The king of sad pop, Conan Gray, recently returned to release his fourth studio album, “Wishbone,” marking his biggest album debut yet and his first time earning a No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart. 

Since his debut, Gray has become famous for his catchy yet lyrically heart-wrenching songs and his latest record, released on Aug. 15, does not disappoint. His music has always been unwaveringly authentic in the vulnerability of its lyricism and the relatability of its topics, but he brings a new level of honesty and depth to “Wishbone,” with many people considering it to be his most personal work yet. 

In Gray’s previous album, “Found Heaven,” he experimented with an ‘80’s-inspired synth-pop sound, to which fans had mixed reactions. “Wishbone” marks his return to an indie-pop style more similar to that of his earlier music, which people generally appreciated more. “I think it’s better than ‘Found Heaven’ but not better than ‘Superache’,” senior Sophia Burkhard said.

Overall, the album is guitar-based and blends dreamy instrumentals with Gray’s signature raw, passionate vocals. The acoustic track “Connell” especially showcases his voice without any heavy instruments and culminates in an instrumental outro with chilling background vocals. “I really like the production. It’s truly a new sound for him and it feels like Conan is really growing as an artist,” senior Ash Govind said.

Gray kicked off the album with the single “This Song,” a jubilant declaration of love. Noting with excitement that this was Gray’s first-ever happy love song, many people speculated that this would be his first love album, but these hopes were dashed with the follow-up single, “Vodka Cranberry.”

“Vodka Cranberry” is a heartbreaking yet catchy ballad in which Gray laments the loss of love in a once-beautiful relationship, conveying a sense of heartache and betrayal throughout the song with his agonized voice and bitter accusations. The track culminates in a passionately belted bridge in which Gray proclaims that if his lover will not break things off, then he will. “The high note in ‘Vodka Cranberry’ was absolutely mind-blowing to hear,” Govind said. 

The album is centered around the theme of a wishbone breaking unevenly, which Gray likens to a breakup where one person always gets the short end of the stick. He has stated that he feels he got the short end of the stick, something that is clear throughout the album. 

Gray also references superstitious imagery several times, most notably in the track “Eleven Eleven,” a track characterized by its calm, melancholic tone and Gray’s soft vocals, which convey his unrequited yearning through well-known symbols of good luck. “I like the name of the album and there were a lot of elements of hoping for something that all kind of connects with a wishbone,” junior Brooke Bennett said.

“Actor” is the opening track and the first gut-punch of the album; it sets up the background for the album with the story of a toxic secret relationship he was in. The song begins with an ethereal intro, then soars into an anguished chorus that displays Gray’s higher vocals. 

Despite the heartbreak he experienced, Gray sees the breakup as multifaceted; in a way, he got the longer end of the stick here because his ex is the one who will have to face the consequences of his own actions. “I liked the rock sound in the chorus of ‘Actor,’” sophomore Emma Gruitt said. 

Childhood trauma has always been a prominent theme in some of Gray’s most beloved tracks, such as “Kid Krow”’s “The Story” and “Superache”’s “Family Line” and this topic returns on “Wishbone”’s “Class Clown,” an intimate tearjerker that explores how Gray hid behind humor when dealing with abuse and bullying as a child and how he cannot escape this feeling even as an adult. The dissonance of the song’s melody, as well as its off-kilter pacing, feels very purposeful, evoking the uncomfortable feeling of not quite fitting in.

With “Wishbone,” Gray returns to themes explored in previous albums, reflecting on his relationships with his signature authenticity while also introducing a more nuanced and mature insight and perspective. “The first album was more of him growing up, but now Conan’s more sure of himself and he’s able to express that through his music,” Bennett said.