Carly Rae Jepsen is one of the most underrated act
in pop music these days. She has a monster hit that is “Call Me Maybe" ; her
first mainstream album, Kiss isn’t bad either, it still showcase her ability to
emote and write relatable lyrics without forgetting to make it bubblegum and
full of hook. Her voice, even though isn’t the best, is perfectly suitable for
her “innocent and little childlike” image. Yet, people already judge and
stereotype her as another one-hit wonder and that annoying girl who forget her
age. She try to remove that image by releasing “Tonight I’m Getting Over You”
but people still doesn’t care.
Thankfully
in her second album, E-MO-TION, Carly successfully move on from the bubblegum
Europop and make 80s synthpop as the main theme throughout the album. The
production is very great and refreshing, complement the lyrics and Carly’s
voice. Take a look at “Warm Blood” with the synth which is matched with the BPM
of blood pumping in our body. “Gimmie Love” is another brilliant example ; it
build itself slowly and finally explode into a shimmering and anthemic jam in
the bridge and last chorus.
The
lyrics is still about love, but she manage to avoid clichés. Fortunately, the
lyrics is successfully emoted by Carly, a rare skill in pop music these days. In
“Your Type”, Carly manage to convey the emotion of hopeless, desperate, wanting
the love so much while in “Let’s Get Lost”, she maintains that cheerful tone,
begging for a longer time with her partner.
The
problem in the album is the first single choices, “I Really Like You”. It’s a
great and the most poppiest song in the album, but if Carly really want to show
her mature side, it’s a slightly misstep. Thankfully she redeem herself with “All
That”, a 80s Prince inspired slow jam and “Run Away With Me”.
There’s
only a single dud in the album which is the ending track, “When I Needed You”. “When
I Needed You” is cute, but it’s an awkward choice to end this album. The bonus
track aren’t that bad either. “Black Heart” with 8-bit synth and unconventional
song structure and “I Didn’t Just Come Here To Dance” with house influence are
great, but we can see that these tracks doesn’t really suit with the overall
mood of the album.
Overall,
E-MO-TION is a great pop album, a perfect example of pop music done right.
Thankfully E-MO-TION is already attracting the blogosphere even though her
overall sales is still bad. I hope this give Carly a sign that she should doesn’t
care about the charts and focus more on her music again for the future.
Recommended Tracks :
* Making The Most Of The Night
* Gimmie Love
* Let's Get Lost
* Run Away With Me
* Warm Blood
4.5 / 5
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