''Dear Happy'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter

Gabrielle Aplin Gabrielle Ann Aplin (born c. October 1992) is an English singer-songwriter. After amassing a following for her acoustic music covers on YouTube, Aplin signed a recording deal with Parlophone in February 2012. She rose to prominence the following ...

. It was released on 17 January 2020, through Aplin's own label Never Fade Records, and distribution group

AWAL AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and independ ...

. ''Dear Happy'' marks Aplin's first studio-length release since her second studio album '' Light Up the Dark'' (2015). The album was announced through Aplin's

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and website on 10 September 2019. Aplin will tour in support of the record in early 2020.

Background

Aplin said the album began "with the moment I made a definitive decision to start to unravel and rewire my brain", calling it "a past, present and future letter to myself". A press release described ''Dear Happy'' as an "uplifting pop record that chronicles Gabrielle's life, and the experiences and cultures she has been inspired by whilst touring and travelling the world over the past couple of years".

Critical reception

Jessie Cunniffe of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' awarded the album five stars out five and deemed it "an intricate portrait of the bruises and realisations of the aftermath of ny quarter-life crisisphase". ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

''s Tommy Monroe praised the album's "deep lyrics, emotive vocals and catchy hooks". In a mixed review, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''s Annabel Nugent highlighted how the album was "expertly engineered for pop virality" but criticized its "saccharine" moments.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Gabrielle Aplin albums Albums produced by Ash Howes Albums produced by Askjell Albums produced by Gabrielle Aplin Albums produced by Mike Spencer Albums produced by Seton Daunt Albums produced by Tommy Baxter (musician)