Conan Gray, “Found Heaven.”

Since he came up as a YouTube influencer, Conan Gray has been constantly walking a tightrope—as a music artist—balancing his songcraft and art with the social media content creation hamster wheel of relevancy. So he’s experimented a bit with his music, taking nostalgic sounds and refurbishing them to find his voice.

The Gen Z singer-songwriter and pop star creates new experiences, rather than bastardizing something already done well. Conan Gray might dress and dance like Michael Jackson, but make no mistake—this is no cosplay. It’s Gray taking the time to experiment and find himself both sonically, and as an artist. On his third album, Found Heaven, he visits the ’80s while putting his own spin on the sound, looks and attitudes.

Gray goes beyond using synth-wave to set the mood, but rather encapsulate the tone of the time, and reminds those of us who lived through the decade of what made the music great to begin with. Produced by pop music icon Max Martin and all-stars Greg Kurstin and Shawn Everett (Kacey Musgraves, The Killers, Alabama Shakes), Found Heaven takes you on a journey of realization that you can’t have the good without the bad.

Found Heaven is proof that Gray has incredible range both with his voice and overall sound; it’s a drastic shift from 2020’s Kid Krow and 2022’s Superache. This time, we get Gray coming through in full technicolor, embracing the beauty that comes from the darkness of growing pains.

Gray has called the album’s title as having two meanings; about the extreme of finding bliss and then also being killed by it. He shows it on single “Lonely Dancers,” a vivacious earworm that recalls Men Without Hats’ “The Safety Dance.” Gray’s stunning vocals in clean, buttery smooth and surprisingly low octaves entice you to dance away sorrows to an excited beat.

Even on slower, ballad-like “Killing Me,” Gray doesn’t take long to pick up the tempo, lamenting, “I love you bad/ That’s the problem occurrin’/ Better love I deserve, and I’m hurtin’.”

Found Heaven is cohesive but does an excellent job of making each song sound unique. The lush layering on “Bourgeoisieses,” for example means you’ll find something different to focus on with each listen. The cheeky song also happens to zero in on a common desire in Reagan’s ’80s: excess.

“The men at war/ They draft the poor/ No time to mourn, I’m on the dance floor/ Mom and dad got my back, but I don’t need that/ I need a Maserati,” Gray demands, his voice switching registers midway through the last word.

His pitch-perfect singing also shines on “Forever With Me,” which is reminiscent of Freddie Mercury’s, while the maximalism of the ’80s shows up on “Alley Rose,” where melody hits you over the head in waves as the ballad soars.

Older single “Never Ending Song” could pass for something by Yaz or Depeche Mode (save for Gray’s singing) from the punch electronic drumbeat and cushy synth. Toward the end of the song, Gray lets outan effortless howl, as the chorus ascends upward.

Album closer “Winner” talks about leaving a toxic home environment, the slowly building as Gray croons, “Packed my bags at 14/ I hadn’t planned on leaving/ But you hadn’t been home for days/ The pots and pans and roaches/ They’re glad I’m finally goin’/ ‘Cause, even them, they shudder at your name.” That’s a heavy topic, to be sure, and continues Gray’s instance to tell stories rarely found in mainstream pop. By allowing himself to heal and find closure, Conan Gray made something both personal, true to him and relatable. That’s surely something to dance for.

Follow writer Vera Maksymiuk at Twitter.com/veramaksymiuk.