E•MO•TION review - Good mainstream pop?

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)

E•MO•TION is a 2015 synthpop album by Call Me, Maybe superstar, Carly Rae Jepsen. While other pop musicians like SOPHIE or Charli XCX incorporate bubblegum bass into their electropop, and others such as Billie Eilish are tapping into a more ethereal emo pop vibe, Carly Rae Jepsen has been quietly bringing synthpop in the mold of Paula Abdul back. Her 2015 album, E•MO•TION, was the first crack of this whip for Carly, and her efforts were well received. Jepsen represents something that may not be especially glamorous to those who prioritize experimentalism in their music, but I think is still admirable: and that is putting out quality mainstream pop. And yeah, I know I generally have a hipster taste, but Carly makes me into a total normie. She's that good.

Where I find many other pop instrumentals to be irritating, the ones Carly chooses on this album are absolutely gorgeous and funky. Whether we're talking "Let's Get Lost"; "All That"; the title track; "When I Needed You" or "Your Type"--the last two being the best in terms of their synths and samples--E•MO•TION delivers wonderful synth driven instrumentals. It helps that the lyrics are surprisingly good, nailing this cute and wholesome atmosphere. While one could argue that CRJ reuses the same lyrical subject matter often, I appreciate how she manages to find different angles to deal with what are on paper a lot of upbeat, lovesick anthems. Carly is a fascinating figure in pop music, in terms of her personality (though try not to be so fascinated that you spend months creepily obsessing over Carly fucking Rae Jepsen lyrics).

Carly has such a beautiful voice that even when you hit the relative clunkers on the tracklist, they're still remarkably pleasant listening. I am consistently floored by how smooth, delightful, and adorable her voice remains (even as I'm on what could be an embarrassing number of relistens at this point). This is an album that I have no problem listening through to the end, because Carly not only ensures there is a bare minimum level of quality across the board, but is just so infectious. I would compare her favorably to NIKI, another pop songstress who is impossible to get enough of. And let's not undersell how great of a singer she is--a fact that comes into sharp focus on All That. Most pop divas are good at singing, though, let's not pretend that they are unilaterally untalented. Carly just stomps her contemporaries by not trend-chasing. It is clear that she is artistically interested in making this sort of music, otherwise she would not have continued on its trajectory into a set of B-sides (E•MO•TION: Side B) and her latest album (Dedicated) after E•MO•TION was unable to quite replicate the meteoric success of Call Me, Maybe.

But, like I mentioned, there are some weaker entries in the tracklist. If I had to pinpoint them, they would be "Warm Blood," "Making the Most of the Night," and "Boy Problems." Warm Blood is such a sleepy song, it feels out of place. I don't have a problem with ballads per se, but there's not much exciting about the song itself. Making the Most of the Night has its moments, but is bogged down by monotony. Boy Problems is actually pretty good, but not great or spectacular. This is disappointing considering how stellar the album can be, with my favorites including Your Type, When I Needed You, the title track, All That, "I Really Like You," "Run Away with Me," and "Gimmie Love."

E•MO•TION is utterly cute and quickly won me over, despite my hesitations. This is an incredibly solid album overall with a slew of excellent songs one after the other. It's somewhat flawed, sure, but still a wonderful listen that handily triumphs over any of its contemporaries. An album as pretty as this deserves a pretty score, and so E•MO•TION gets a 9.5/10 from me.

Must-listen

Summary:

Carly Rae Jepsen makes sugary synthpop that almost always hits bullseyes with her third solo album. How someone goes from American Idol to THIS is beyond me.