Good Riddance (album)

Good Riddance is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. It was released on February 24, 2023, through Interscope Records. The album was written by Abrams, with Aaron Dessner also having writing and producing credits on all songs. A deluxe edition of the album with four bonus tracks was released on June 16, 2023.

Background and development
On January 9, 2023, Abrams announced her debut album, Good Riddance, to be released on February 24, 2023. The first single, "Difficult" was released a few months prior, on October 7, 2022. The second single, titled "Where Do We Go Now?", was released on January 13, 2023. The third single, titled "Amelie", was released on February 10. "I Know It Won't Work", the fourth and final single was released along with the album on February 24.

Of the album development and creative process, Gracie Abrams expressed her gratitude for prominent producer of the album, Aaron Dessner and described the creative process of the album on Instagram by posting: It's difficult to imagine these songs living anywhere other than my most secret places, but [producer Aaron Dessner] reminded me that holding space for brutal honesty in songwriting is kind of the whole point.

I feel an unbelievable amount of gratitude for the opportunity to have made this album. Writing this record allowed me to grow up in ways I needed to. It forced me to reflect and be accountable. It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized. It allowed me to let go. The deluxe version of Good Riddance was announced on April 24, 2023, and released on June 16, 2023. It features four bonus tracks, including "Block Me Out", which was first released as a single on April 8, 2022.

Critical reception
Upon its release, Good Riddance received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 73 based on 6 reviews.

In a perfect review for Dork, Martyn Young called it "a masterclass in intimate and evocative songwriting." The review concluded, "It's a debut that perfectly illustrates the transcendent quality of a very special composition." Jane Bua of Pitchfork emphasizes Abrams' writing, calling her "honest and personal, offering moments of clear, quiet charm", but notes, "Writing with emotional transparency is only one part of the equation, especially given the ubiquity of 'sad girl' songs these days." The magazine DIY defined the album as "a heartbreaking but joyful journey into the depth of each of your feelings." In addition, he highlighted the songs "I Should Hate You", "Full Machine", "This Is What The Drugs Are For", and "Right Now" for their lyrics, production, and sounds. Some critics highlighted Aaron Dessner's distinctive touch on the tracks.

In a mixed review, Amaya Lin of The Line of Best Fit opined, "Disappointingly, the greatness verges but never crests. Abrams' writing is both hyperspecific and extremely vague, referring to situations and characters that lack essential context", and notes Dessner's production for illuminating "an especially delicate side of Abrams' confessional composition". For the newspaper i, Kate Solomon wrote, "As intimate and beautifully drawn as the songs almost universally are, it's so relentlessly downbeat that it becomes difficult to tune into for a whole album", deeming it "an album to wallow in and not move on from."

Musicians

 * Gracie Abrams – lead vocals (all tracks), Wurlitzer electric piano (10)
 * Aaron Dessner – acoustic guitar (1, 6–10, 13), baritone guitar (11), bass (3, 5, 6, 8–10, 12, 13, 15), cymbals (1), drum programming (2, 4–6, 11–16), electric bass (1), electric guitar (1–5, 8, 9, 11, 13–16), guitar (1, 5, 9, 10, 14–16), Mellotron (1, 2, 6, 11, 14), ophicleide (4), percussion (1, 4–6), piano (1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16), shaker (3, 10), synth bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 14, 16), synthesizer (1–6, 8–12, 14–16), tambourine (1), Wurlitzer electric piano (2, 3, 9, 10, 12)
 * Jonathan Low – synth bass (8)
 * James McAlister – drums (4–7, 9, 14–16), drum programming (8), electric guitar (2, 3, 5), guitar (5), keyboards (1–5, 9, 14, 16), maracas (9, 14), Moog bass (2, 5–7, 9, 10, 14), percussion (8, 11, 12), piano (7), shaker (6, 16), synth bass (15), synthesizer (2–14, 16), tambourine (3, 9), tom-toms (16), woodwinds (16)
 * Rob Moose – orchestration (4), piano (4), strings (13), viola (4, 11, 14), violin (4, 11, 14)
 * Thomas Bartlett – piano (1–12, 16), synthesizer (1–12, 16), Mellotron (1–6, 8, 11), keyboards (1), ophicleide (8, 14) Wurlitzer electric piano (1–5, 7, 8, 11)
 * Ben Lanz – synthesizer (1, 4–6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16), trombone (16)
 * Matt Barrick – drums (1, 3, 9, 13, 14) percussion (2, 3, 9), tambourine (13)
 * James Krivchenia – drums (2, 3, 5, 14), percussion (5)
 * Bryce Dessner – electric guitar (2, 3)
 * Bryan Devendorf – drums (8)

Technical

 * Aaron Dessner – production, engineering
 * Randy Merrill – mastering (1–12, 14–16)
 * Steve Fallone – mastering (13)
 * Jonathan Low – mixing (all tracks), engineering (1–12, 14–16)
 * Bella Blasko – engineering (1–7, 9–)
 * James McAlister – engineering (1–3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15)
 * Thomas Bartlett – engineering (1–3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15)
 * Ben Lanz – engineering (1, 5, 15)
 * Matt Barrick – engineering (13)
 * Rob Moose – engineering (13)
 * Matias Tellez – additional production (2, 4)
 * Mick Raskin – vocal engineering (8)

Tour
Abrams completed a 44-date tour throughout 2023 and 2024 in North America, Europe, and Australia.