Album Review: Snow Angel | Reneé Rapp

This Barbie is a pop-star!

Not that she can’t be both, but it seems like Reneé Rapp has chosen pop star as her Barbie’s designated occupation. Previously starring in the Mean Girls musical on Broadway as8 Regina George and one of the leads in the HBO Max comedy The Sex Lives of College Girls, actress Reneé Rapp has pivoted to be a full-time pop star for now.

Her first full-length album Snow Angel, dropped mid-August, landing her #44 on the Billboard charts and simultaneously making it the most significant female solo debut album of the year. This album comes hot off the heels of the launch of her musical career with EP Everything to Everyone, which spun off mini TikTok hits “Too Well” and “In The Kitchen.” Rapp’s debut single “Tattoos” was teased initially on the platform, and after it went viral, she got signed to Interscope, which is probably the best place to be if you want to be a pop star. Their current roster includes Billie, Olivia, Selena, Lady Gaga, and Gracie Abrams, to name a few.

The album was written and produced in 5 months, starting in January concurrently while Rapp was filming for Mean Girls: The Musical in New Jersey. All in all, this freshman effort from Rapp is solid. Most of the songs express Rapps’s big, pent-up feelings that show themselves in really humorous and exciting ways. Reneé sings of an ex-lover who moves to her city on So What Now “If I miss your call I’m gonna cry, You’re a dumb crusty ass b*tch, but I think I love you, welcome back to California” and taking everything she see’s as a sign on the lead single to whether or not a relationship will work out on lead single Talk Too Much “if I see a blue car today, we’ll probably have to break up.”

Part of being a pop star means becoming an expert in mastering the art of not-so-serious bops. Reneé puts her best foot forward on tracks like Pretty Girls, The Wedding Song, and Talk Too Much. This should also go without saying, but her vocals are crazy. She reminds me of Ariana Grande in a way that her voice is so talented and theatre-kid, but she can control it in a way that makes a song pleasant and not too theatre-styled.

This album is still a debut record and contains many first-album cliches. It has moments of cringe, lyrics that don’t quite land, “my tummy hurts, you’re in love with her,”?!? and interesting bridge choices (listen to Talk Too Much). We also couldn’t help but notice the inclusion of pure vitriol on outros like Poison Poison. “You could poison poison, You’re the worst bitch on the earth, I hate you and your guts.” Let it out, girl! But we hope you’re seeing a therapist!

For us, Snow Angel gives hope to the generation of young artists getting discovered on TikTok. So often, artists have a viral hit, get signed, and then struggle to maintain any success. (JVKE, ARIZONA, Tai Verdes, 347aidan & 24kGoldn, to name a few). Let Reneé serve as an example of how to do it right. It’s exciting to see a label start to figure out how to capitalize off an output a viral hit and invest in them as a artist.

Buckle up because we feel this won’t be the last time we talk about her, not the last time you see her name.

Check out our favorite tracks, listen to the album, and see our scores below:

Can’t Miss: The Wedding Song, Snow Angel

You Can Skip: Gemini Moon, Tummy Hurts

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BY THE NUMBERS

• Bennett’s Score: 6.25

• Carson’s Score: 6.75

• Album Score: 13.00

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Notes from Bennett:

This record is fun, well-polished, and a good representation of the current state of pop music. Not much else.

I think the most fun aspect of this record is the moments of unconventional writing. The whole blue car thing on Talk Too Much, any line on Tummy Hurts contains fun lyrics that can catch you off guard. even the weaker tracks on this album do this well, for example, “sour lemons or cinnamon. every day I’m different.” On Gemini Moon is an objectively strange way to do the whole sweet/sour thing.

The production on the album’s title track Snow Angel is something else. Every 6 seconds on this song something new is standing out to my ear that I am a fan of. The way the song uses feedback to create tension and then distortion on her vocals for release is just so solid. I’m also amazed at just the vocal performance and production. There have to have been at least a hundred vocal tracks in the mix here.

Notes from Carson:

Let me just first say that I resisted watching that Sex Lives of College Girls show for as long as I could but my wonderful, beautiful, fantastic fianceé Jill had it on one too many times that I now see its appeal and it actually makes me laugh my ass off. Highly recommend.

Now back to Reneé, I also resisted her music for a while after seeing her on my TikTok 24/7. Had no idea she was capable of this kind of music or had the vocals to deliver quite a solid debut album.

Snow Angel is really sad. I saw a TikTok about the traumatic night that inspired the song and it really broke my heart </3.

First and foremost let me just say that I am a horoscope hater. So a song entitled Gemini Moon is going to be tough for me to enjoy. This is the first song I think is pretty filler and not needed.

The end of the album really drags. I Wish, Willow, and 23 are kinda snooze fests.

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