Even with the warmer weather outside, Conan Gray has made sure to remind us about the cold sting of words with his new song “The Best,” a single from his upcoming “Wishbone (Deluxe)” album.
On the last night of the North American leg of his Wishbone World Tour on Mar. 21, Gray announced that “The Best” would release on Mar. 27, and the deluxe of his most recent album would be out Apr. 24. The deluxe is set to have five new songs, including “The Best.” The names of the other four songs are currently hidden until release, and it’s safe to say anticipation is high.
The deluxe comes eight months after the initial release of “Wishbone,” and unlike many deluxe versions, Gray states on his Instagram that these aren’t “songs that didn’t make the album,” but pieces that he wrote in the months following the release of the album and as he embarked on the “Wishbone Pajama Shows.”
While the announcement of “The Best” was exciting, it wasn’t surprising. Gray had teased the song during the first leg of his tour, performing the full un-released song during his set. Those in the audience were lucky enough to get a taste and now that it’s released, the hype was well worth it.
The original “Wishbone” album followed Gray’s experience through a relationship—the love, the hardship, and the end, where he expresses feeling like an actual wishbone, where he always gets the short end of the stick. Those songs were set during and immediately after the relationship ended, but “The Best” follows the lingering feelings, and explores navigating the aftermath of a crashed relationship.
The song opens with “It was a bad time, wouldn’t go back” which seems to reflect a lyric from “Romeo,” where Gray expresses “So I hope you know I’m never gonna want you back.” The song continues, though, with “But memories of good times, they really last,” which encapsulates nostalgia and reminiscing very well.
The pre-chorus stings, as he sings “But why leave so quickly?/Do you miss me?/Did all of this past year mean anything?” Gray vocalizes trying to make sense of the heartbreak, questioning the actions of his past partner.
The part of the song that garnered the most attention, and went viral, when sung on tour was the chorus. “I swear if I saw you tonight/We could make peace with it, not have to sleep with it/Haunting me all of the time.” The beat makes it nearly impossible not to bop your head, but the harsh bite of the words also makes it difficult not to join Gray’s heartache. He does a great job at highlighting the human desire for closure. Despite the pain this partner caused, clearly outlined throughout the album, Gray still writes about wanting a shot to patch up the damage.
The bridge, as with most pop music, is undeniably the best part. Throughout the song Gray builds up the tension of wanting to reach back out and reminiscing of what once was, and it all explodes at the high point of the song, as he sings “Sometimes I wonder, were we even friends?/Sometimes I wonder if it really is the end.” The bridge is a loud and vulnerable emotional explosion exploring confusion, disbelief, and overthinking.
Gray follows this disbelief in the rest of the bridge, “I wanna watch you while the words come out your mouth/That you don’t miss me like/I know you miss me now.” Sometimes you just can’t let go until they make you, and Gray summarizes this perfectly.
The most fascinating part of this song is the growth its existence represents. Throughout “Wishbone” you hear Gray sing about the pain this partner caused him, and his inability to move on let it go. In the “Sunset Tower” bridge, he sings “I wish you the best, but hope that you die inside,” But, in the end of “The Best” he wishes that he could “make peace with it, finally sleep with it/Finally wish you the best.”
It’s such a full circle moment that truly feels like the end of a chapter, and the end of the “Wishbone” era. “The Best” is set as the last song on the deluxe, making its ending even more bittersweet. After the heartbreak, intimacy, and intense emotion throughout the album, it’s a sweet conclusion.
Make sure to mark your calendars for the release of the deluxe. April seems to be a hot month for music, with Noah Kahan also releasing an album Apr. 24. The real question is, who are you streaming first?
