Conan Gray Wishbone
Conan Gray's Wishbone arrives as a quietly assured turn that trades big-80s gloss for close-up confession, and critics largely call it a step forward. Across three professional reviews the record earned a 73.33/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing to intimacy, maturity, and a stylistic shift toward nostalgic dreampop and campfire-sized sing-alongs. Those themes shape the quick verdict on whether Wishbone is good: the critical consensus finds it a worthwhile, emotionally direct collection that benefits from a return to familiar collaborators.
Reviewers consistently praise specific songs as the album's emotional anchors. “Nauseous” and “My World” are cited by multiple critics as standout tracks, while “This Song” is noted for its cinematic bedroom-pop sweep; DIY also highlights the reunion with Dan Nigro as central to the album's clearer focus. Critics agree that these best songs on Wishbone marry vulnerability with memorable melodies, and that quieter cuts like “Care” round the record with nostalgic, Nineties-tinged warmth.
Nuance appears across reviews: Clash frames Wishbone as a career high with confident vocals and sleek production, Rolling Stone emphasizes storytelling and communal intimacy, and DIY reads the album as a recalibration after an electro detour. While some critics register skepticism about any loss of previous adventurousness, the overall professional reviews position Wishbone as a mature, heartfelt collection that merits attention in Conan Gray's catalog. For readers wondering what critics say about Wishbone and which are the best tracks, the consensus points to “Nauseous”, “My World”, and “This Song” as the record's clearest highlights.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Nauseous
2 mentions
"Gray shows total vulnerability on ‘Nauseous’ where he sings "your love is a threat and I\'m nauseous""— Clash Music
My World
2 mentions
"On standout song ‘My World’, Gray sings about a lover who was his everything, his world."— Clash Music
Care
1 mention
""Care" scratches an itch for Lillith Fair-esque Nineties dreampop."— Rolling Stone
Gray shows total vulnerability on ‘Nauseous’ where he sings "your love is a threat and I\'m nauseous"
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Actor
This Song
Vodka Cranberry
Romeo
My World
Class Clown
Nauseous
Caramel
Connell
Sunset Tower
Eleven Eleven
Care
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Conan Gray\'s Wishbone feels like secrets spilled at a slumber party, and the best songs - particularly “Nauseous” and “My World” - make that intimacy sing aloud. Spanos writes with a warm, admiring clarity, noting how storytelling is \"stronger across the board\" and how “Nauseous” cuts to the bone. The record trades Found Heaven's flash for campfire-y, sing-along moments, so when “My World” swells into a shimmering chorus it lands as one of the best tracks on Wishbone. Even the softer closers like “Care” are framed as satisfying, Nineties-tinged touches that round out why listeners ask about the best songs on Wishbone.
Key Points
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The best song, "Nauseous", is singled out for lyrical growth and emotional precision, making it the standout.
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Wishbone's core strengths are intimate storytelling, matured songwriting, and a restrained pop-rock/dreampop palette.
Themes
Critic's Take
Conan Gray delivers a career best with Wishbone, and the record’s best songs - notably “This Song” and “My World” - show him at his most yearning and assured. The reviewer's tone remains celebratory yet measured, praising the vocal heft and Nigro’s sleek production that lifts tracks like “This Song” into cinematic, bedroom-pop territory. On standout “My World” Gray combines admission and closure in anthemic fashion, while intimate cuts such as “Nauseous” reveal the album’s emotional core. Overall, the best tracks on Wishbone are those that marry vulnerability with memorable melodies, making it a confident pop statement.
Key Points
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The best song, “This Song”, is best because it marries yearning vocals with lush, cinematic production.
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The album’s core strengths are vocal prowess, introspective songwriting about love, and sleek Dan Nigro production.
Themes
Critic's Take
Bella Martin hears a recalibration on Wishbone, noting a return to familiar hands with Conan Gray and a retreat from the 80s electro detour. She singles out the album's reunion with Dan Nigro as pivotal, suggesting the best tracks - notably “Actor” and “This Song” - benefit from that steadier steering. The tone is measured, curious, and slightly skeptical, framing the strongest songs as proof that the detour was just that - a detour. Overall the review directs listeners hunting for the best songs on Wishbone toward its clearer, collaboration-led moments.
Key Points
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The best song is best because it exemplifies the productive reunion with Dan Nigro and the album's clearer production.
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The album's core strengths are its return to a familiar collaborator and a stylistic retreat from the 80s electro experiment.