The song that I just mentioned threw Carly Rae Jepsen into the spotlight in 2012 after her debut off Canadian Idol and a debut album, giving the Canadian singer-songwriter a 9x platinum designation here in the US (which is crazy). The album that the single appeared on, Kiss, was nice, but I never really found it to be remarkable. The songs are cute and sweet (not to mention most are undeniably catchy), but I found it kind of odd for a woman in her late 20's to sing about love like she was still a teenager. Some of the instrumentals were also very sugary, and none of the songs really clicked together to make a strong album statement,
Sadly (and unfortunately), the only really successful single off Kiss was "Call Me Maybe", and although more singles were released (including the sneaking-behind-the-lovers'-backs song "This Kiss" or the accurately named "Tonight I'm Getting Over You", not to mention the collaboration with Owl City on "Good Time"), none of them made the splash that "Call Me Maybe" ever did. As a result, Carly Rae Jepsen mostly faded out of the spotlight, and most of the American public was left to assume she'd be left as a one hit wonder.
And then along came March 2015, when "I Really Like You" first dropped, the lead single to a new album from Jepsen. I was surprised when I found it on Spotify the first Tuesday of March, and I immediately attached onto it. Sure, the naivete of "Call Me Maybe" was still present, but the beat was much more lush and extravagant, perfectly fitting that person teetering on the precipice of falling in love but not being quite there yet.
After listening to "I Really Like You" several times, I knew that Carly deserved another chance. Maybe I needed some more of that cuteness that had felt at times lackluster during Kiss; maybe I would find some of that simpler Carly that had been on songs from her debut album, Tug of War (which I haven't listened to all of yet, but all of the tracks I've heard have been great). At the same time, I was thinking that it would be similar to Kiss in that it would be juvenile in some aspects, so I went in with mixed expectations.
So how was E•MO•TION? Was it as I expected? Or did it succeed my expectations and turn out to be a surprisingly great album?
Well, surprise it did because oh my gosh, this album was better than I was expecting! If you're looking for a fun pop album glimmering with 80's nostalgia, yet you don't want to listen to Taylor's Swift 1989 for the hundredth time, E•MO•TION is the thing for you.
One of the things that immediately struck me as different from Kiss was how mature E•MO•TION is. With the exception of "I Really Like You", and some parts of "Gimme Love" and "Let's Get Lost", the young cluelessness, the cuteness of a My Little Pony special, and the bubblegum music styles have all vanished and been replaced with slick and sophisticated production that immediately makes this music much more adult.
While the opening track on Kiss, "Tiny Little Bows", began with fuzzy synths and exploded into a sugary dance beat that kids could probably fall in love with, "Run Away with Me" (the opening song on E•MO•TION) launches with a horn line and is complimented with much softer keys that could make a 25 year old crack a smile. The other songs from Kiss are infectious due to their sweetness, but E•MO•TION is catchy in other things, mostly in its lush instrumentals and sticky choruses complete with background harmonies that increase the songs' ability to get into your head.
What I just explained, however, really isn't the whole story of the album. Let's go in depth track by track and see what we find.
Next up is the first single "I Really Like You", which is an adorable and fun jam that should resonate with people who are in love with someone, but they're not quite ready for a committed relationship. The chorus will be grating to some people (really is repeated 18 times during it), but I think it emphasizes how close the couple could potentially get. If the release of this hadn't been so wonky (with the album being released in Japan in June, which absolutely killed all momentum this song had, as it was released in March), this could have easily been the song of the summer.
"Gimme Love" is the kind of song that I envision playing in a club late at night. It picks up influence from deep house in its churning beat, pitch-shifted vocal snippets, and the relaxed atmosphere that still makes the song easy to get up and dance to. The narrator of the song is head over heels for their lover, and wants to take the next step with them. It's easily one of my favorites on the album, even though the chorus just repeats "gimme love" over and over again. I find it extremely catchy, and every time I hear it, I end up doing a little shimmy because I can't help myself.
"All That" is another one of my favorites, and probably my favorite of the album, because I wasn't expecting Carly to ever do a sultry slow jam (and even better: she does it phenomenally well). The production (complete with drums, bass guitar, and glimmering keys), courtesy of Ariel Rechtshaid and Devonte Hynes, adds so much texture to a song about a committed girl who will always be there for her guy friend who she has feelings for. Jepsen's delivery for this song was also unexpected, as she becomes sultry and puts so much into the song, which shows that she's capable of doing so much more than just cutesy love stories. The weird buzzing at the end doesn't detract much from the song, and if I easily had to pick one of the best songs on this album and declare a favorite, this would be it.
The halfway point of the album is the song "Boy Problems", which begins with a spoken word sample and immediately goes into Carly stressing about one of her friends yapping about her boy problems. However, Carly's also been on that road, but she swears to herself that she has bigger problems than breaking up with her boyfriend. It's definitely a funky and sometimes snarky piece, but it's not one of my favorites on the album. Sure, it's catchy and fun (and co-written by the absolutely amazing Sia), but it's not one of the highlights of E•MO•TION.
"Making the Most of the Night", although cluttered in its instrumental, grew on me from the first listen. Another "conquer the night" song, this is really about a girl helping a guy out after heartbreak or if he's feeling down. This song is also co-written by Sia, and although it's different from her usual tracks (I shouldn't be surprised that Sia can write party songs), it's still a fun tune that I could see myself bopping along in the car to, especially if the sky is dark.
Another one of my highlights from the album is the next song, "Your Type", where Carly resigns sadly to the fact that she'll never really be what a guy wants, even if she still has feelings for him. Again, Carly brings another absolutely stunning vocal performance much like on "All That", where her vulnerability and sadness shine through as she belts out the chorus, and the drum and key-saturated chorus that builds up from a fuzzy synth at the beginning accentuates the emotion perfectly. This is definitely another unexpected side to Carly that I would love to see more of, and hopefully with more albums. we'll be able to see more glimpses.
"Let's Get Lost" is another cute love song, focusing on a narrator who has never really been one to fall in love, but she'll definitely take a chance on this guy that will hopefully take the long way home so they can spend some more time together. Everything bounces along nicely and without the discomfort of going over speed bumps (because everyone LOVES that), and the assorted rowdy sound effects of people (I think) at the beginning and farm animals/pub sounds at the end add more of an atmosphere to the song that I did like.
"LA Hallucinations" is definitely an interesting track to say the least. With a glitchy and pulsing beat, it details the effects of the Los Angeles celebrity lifestyle (it also makes use of the lyric "Buzzfeed buzzards and TMZ crows", which got a laugh out of me) and how it affects a relationship. Although it's not one of my favorite songs from E•MO•TION, I like how Carly still brought up how the picture perfect appearance of Hollywood isn't as glamorous as it appears (even though that message has been repeated time and time again in other books and songs).
Another surprising track on this album is "Warm Blood", where Carly references a ton of things about vampires (which is ironic, considering that the producer of this song is part of the band Vampire Weekend) and her delivery becomes seductive, much like it did on "All That". "Warm Blood" itself talks about an intense attraction to someone, and the throbbing beats create layers to provide a nice instrumental for Carly's high-pitched cooing and regular singing voice. It would definitely be a nice song for Halloween (although The Weeknd's "The Hills" might provide more creepiness if that's what you're looking for), in more of the vein of a love song in the time of jack-o-lantern's.
The closing song is "When I Needed You", which begins with a chorus of "Hey!"'s (much like "I Really Like You", even though the songs don't share the same producers) and a crescendo build-up until we reach a drum supported keyboard line that pops throughout. In this final track, Carly reminisces on a relationship that didn't work out, because her boyfriend was never truly there for her. When I said back at the beginning of my review that the album is inspired by the 80's, this song really sounds like it came from that era (seriously, back when my mom had Sirius XM radio, I could totally expect this being on). From the Cyndi Lauper-esque vocals in the chorus to the twinkling keys interspersed throughout, this is pure 80's nostalgia material, and for the last song on the album, it does a good job wrapping up all of the themes of this album: love, emotion, and how that can affect a person.
Overall, E•MO•TION was definitely a surprising album, filled with a love for the 80's and a range of feelings all captured in fun love songs. If you're looking for something that will satisfy a 1980's junkie, someone who loves Carly Rae Jepsen, or someone who just wants an enjoyable pop album, here it is! E•MO•TION is available from School Boy and Interscope Records both in physical and digital download forms, so you can grab a compact disc or buy it on iTunes. You can also stream it in Spotify if you wish.
That's all from me for this first music review of mine! Until next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment