Early Twenties

Early Twenties is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Cat Burns, released on 12 July 2024 through Since '93 and RCA Records. The album was preceded by the singles "Alone", "End Game" and "Met Someone". The deluxe edition includes the previously released singles "Go" and "Wasted Youth" with Goddard. It also includes a collaboration with India.Arie. Early Twenties has received positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for the 2024 Mercury Prize.

Early Twenties
Studio album by Cat Burns
Released	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
Genre	Pop
Length	49:53
Label	Since '93 RCA
Producer	Jonah Inverness Kurisu Jonny Lattimer Steve Mac Britten Newbill The Nocturns Stuart Price Jordan Riley Risc Ed Thomas Yakob
Cat Burns chronology
Emotionally Unavailable (2022) Early Twenties (2024)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	9/10
DIY
The Line of Best Fit	8/10
The Observer

Early Twenties received a score of 81 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on four critics' reviews, which the website categorised as "universal acclaim". Reviewing the album for Clash, Lauren Dehollogne wrote that Burns "proves that she is willing to bare her soul while delivering some of the best pop vocals of the last decade" as she is "often conducting a sound that resembles the gap between early Beyoncé and Paramore" and "able to make even her saddest moments danceable". DIY's Bella Martin stated that "when Early Twenties is as its best is when Cat is at her most inside-thoughts-out-loud, marrying the specificities of her internal struggles with conversely euphoric pop moments".

John Amen of The Line of Best Fit felt that Burns "opt[s] for self-reflection, exploring habitual tendencies that undermine her higher commitments. The project brims with honesty, practical wisdom, and reminders that we're more resilient than we think." He concluded that Early Twenties "documents a young and talented artist striving to make herself a better human and the world a better place". Tara Joshi of The Observer said, "imbued with moving gospel richness and an indie sensibility, it's an introspective but anthemic, English-accented pop collection about growing pains".

Track listing

Early Twenties track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Alone"	Cat Burns Steve Mac	Mac	2:52
2.	"Go"	Burns George Morgan Jonah Stevens Wille Tannergard	Jonah	3:35
3.	"End Game"	Burns Gez O'Connell Jordan Riley	Riley	2:26
4.	"Boy Crazy"	Burns Jonny Lattimer	Jonah Risc TommyD[a]	3:06
5.	"This Is What Happens"	Burns Yakob Rabitsch	Yakob Risc[a]	2:44
6.	"People Pleaser"	Burns O'Connell Riley	Riley Stuart Price	2:27
7.	"Met Someone"	Burns Lattimer	Lattimer Risc	2:49
8.	"Live More & Love More"	Burns O'Connell Riley	Burns Price Charles Haydon Hicks[a] Luke Burgoyne[a]	2:38
9.	"Jodie"	Burns Simon Aldred	Risc TommyD[a]	3:23
10.	"Low Self Esteem"	Burns O'Connell Riley	Riley	3:13
11.	"You Don't Love Me Anymore"	Burns Britten Newbill Victoria Zaro	Newbill Kurisu	3:24
12.	"False Hope"	Burns Nathaniel Ledwidge Newbill	Risc	3:08
13.	"No More"	Burns O'Connell Riley	Riley Inverness	2:08
14.	"Happier Without You"	Burns Newbill Rabisch	Yakob	3:06
15.	"Some Things Don't Last Forever"	Burns Mac	Risc	2:42
16.	"Know That You're Not Alone"	Burns Joe Housley Charlie Martin Rob Nelsen Newbill	Inverness The Nocturns Matt Wolach[a]	2:55
17.	"Healing" (featuring India.Arie)	Burns India Simpson Ed Thomas	Thomas Courtland Liddell[a] Eddie Allen[a] Edward Lucuara[a]	3:17
Total length:				49:53

Deluxe edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Wish It Was Me"	Burns Hannah Berney Newbill Francis White	Risc	2:57
19.	"Introvert"	Burns Lattimer	Lattimer Risc[a]	2:51
20.	"Ghosting"	Burns Riley	Riley Mike Spencer[a]	2:25
21.	"We're Not Kids Anymore"	Burns Eyelar Mirzazadeh Sam Posener Aston Rudi	Rudi	3:03
22.	"Free"	Burns Jimmy Napes	Rudi	3:36
23.	"Sleep at Night"	Burns Berney Christopher Smith	Risc	2:34
24.	"Go" (Goddard. remix)	Burns Morgan Stevens Tannergard	Jonah Goddard.[r]	3:12
25.	"Wasted Youth" (with Goddard.)	Burns Piers Aggett Aldred Jonny Coffer Kesi Dryden Andrew Goddard Will Kennard Saul Milton	Goddard. Coffer[c] Kennard[c]	2:27
Total length:				72:58

Notes

• ^{^[c]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Musicians

• Cat Burns – lead vocals (all tracks), guitar (tracks 1, 5), background vocals (3, 8, 10, 13), electric guitar (17)
• Cherice Voncelle – background vocals (track 1)
• Subrina McCalla – background vocals (track 1)
• Doug Harper – drums (track 1)
• Steve Mac – keyboards (track 1)
• Chris Laws – programming (track 1)
• Jonah Stevens – bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, percussion, piano (tracks 2, 24)
• Jordan Riley – bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 3, 8, 10, 13); background vocals (3, 10)
• Gez O'Connell – background vocals (tracks 3, 10, 13)
• The Elements – programming (track 3)
• Benjamin Lee – strings (track 3)
• Risc – acoustic guitar (tracks 4, 5, 7, 9, 18, 19), electric guitar (4, 7, 9, 18, 19), programming (5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 19), synthesizer (5, 12, 19), background vocals (7), bass guitar (9, 18), guitar (23)
• Wired Strings – strings (tracks 4, 9)
• Yakob – piano, programming, synthesizer (tracks 5, 14); strings (5); bass guitar, percussion (14)
• AKlass Collective Singers – background vocals (track 6)
• Debbie – background vocals (track 6)
• Jonny Lattimer – bass guitar, guitar, percussion (tracks 7, 19); drum machine, vocals (19)
• Stuart Price – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (track 8)
• Dan Grech-Marguerat – programming (track 8)
• Aod – guitar (tracks 9, 12, 15)
• Britten Newbill – acoustic guitar, background vocals (track 11)
• Hollie Petrie – background vocals (track 11)
• James Thompson – background vocals (track 11)
• Teheliah Daniels – background vocals (track 11)
• Chris Thomas – bass guitar, cello, electric guitar, keyboards (track 11)
• Inverness – programming (tracks 13, 16), guitar (13), keyboards (16)
• Nicholas Veinoglou – guitar (track 14)
• Charlie Martin – bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming, synthesizer (track 16)
• Joe Housley – background vocals, guitar (track 16)
• Ed Thomas – bass guitar, drum machine, electric guitar, keyboards, programming (track 17)
• Sam Posener – bass guitar, guitar (track 22)
• Lewis Moody – organ (track 22)
• Dan Diggas – piano (track 22)
• Joel Bailey – vocals (track 22)
• Goddard. – remixing (track 24)

Technical

• Randy Merrill – mastering (tracks 1, 16)
• Dan Gresham – mastering (tracks 2, 24)
• Stuart Hawkes – mastering (tracks 3–5, 7, 9, 10, 12–15, 17–19)
• Mark Bowyer – mastering (tracks 6, 22)
• Andy Miles – mastering (tracks 8, 11, 20, 21, 23)
• Saul Milton – mastering, mixing (track 25)
• Will Kennard – mastering, mixing (track 25)
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (tracks 1, 16)
• Aaron Ahmad – mixing (tracks 2, 24)
• Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing (tracks 3, 6, 8)
• Manon Grandjean – mixing (tracks 4, 7, 9–15, 17–19, 22, 23)
• Mike Spencer – mixing (track 20)
• Dan Parry – mixing (track 21)
• Chris Laws – engineering (track 1)
• Dann Pursey – engineering (track 1)
• Isabel Gracefield – engineering (tracks 4, 9)
• Jordan Riley – engineering (tracks 8, 13)
• Britten Newbill – engineering (track 11)
• Ed Thomas – engineering (track 17)
• Risc – engineering (track 23)
• Amond Jackson – vocal engineering (track 17)
• Jeff Cain – vocal engineering (track 17)
• Matt Wolach – engineering assistance (track 1)
• Rosie Danvers – performance arrangement (tracks 4, 9)

Charts

Chart performance for Early Twenties

Chart (2024)	Peak position
Scottish Albums (OCC)	7
UK Albums (OCC)	7

External links

• Early Twenties at MusicBrainz (list of releases)