The 27-year-old UK YouTube sensation released her new album “Dear Happy” on January 17th. Gabrielle Aplin has kept her fans waiting years for a new project considering her last album “Light Up The Dark” was released in 2015. Aplin originated her fame on YouTube making videos doing song covers, in 2012 she was signed to her first record label.

“Dear Happy” is made up of 14 lyrically poetic emotionally appealing songs. Before releasing the entire album Aplin released the single “Miss You 2” on January 2nd. Dear Happy is a very expressive album although when she is singing about tough times or society being overwhelming she adds a quirky feeling to her music. A very optimistic approach to what she has been through. In tracks such as “Kintsugi” where she sings about her traumas and feeling down yet referring to her scars are golden.

Although Aplin is opening up to her personal issues on the album she incorporates an upbeat chorus embracing what she is going through with lyrics such as “Isn’t it strange that I don’t want to walk away… I don’t want to play it safe” in the track “Strange.” She does slow the album with tracks with “My Mistake” and “Dear Happy.”

Aplin has definitely progressed as an artist experimenting with music types compared to her last album “Light Up The Dark.” Although she sings about personal topics you can vividly see her growth as an artist and her personality. Her last album focuses more on the heartbreak, confusion, and newly hurt feelings whereas “Dear Happy” embraces her past and the journey of healing and going through the motions. She incorporates more of feel-good beats throughout her recent release.

Overall this album is an 8/10 and definitely a great way to refresh her music career and kick off the new decade. “Dear Happy” is now streaming on platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music make sure to give it a listen!