Carly Rae Jepsen, probably better known as "the 'Call Me Maybe' girl," has just released her second studio album, Emotion, with hopes of halting her growing reputation as a one-hit wonder. In a few words, Emotion is a pop masterpiece. Each of the 15 songs were drawn from a pool of over 200 tracks, all of which were co-written by Jepsen over the past three years to form an album that's almost unbelievably great. Interestingly enough, the album doesn't find its strength in revolutionizing the genre--instead, it openly borrows from a number of distinct styles, especially that 80's synth, big hook sound that was re-popularized in Taylor Swift's 1989, and finds success in its ability to do so many things well without becoming scattered or showy. Emotion expertly tries its hand at both the light and the dark, the slow and the kicky, the old and the new, all the while maintaining a current of totally electrifying pop.
Leading the string of singles with "I Really Like You" (likely the only song off the album you've heard) is logical as it's the most obvious candidate for a chart-topper, but I lose sleep at night hoping desperately that its release didn't shoot Emotion in the foot. On its own, "I Really Like You" seems like a bit of a gimmick, a cheap attempt to score another "Call Me Maybe," complete with the overly-eager enamored chorus ("I really really really really really really like you"-- it's like she was trying to reach a minimum word count) and an outrageously sugary sound. Complimented by the rest of the album, though, it comes across as an endearing and knowing wink to her reputation--a reminder of how well Carly knows the path to the deepest corner of your ear. If you heard "I Really Like You" and blew off the album as simple and rote, you're missing out.
Here are some of the other highlights:
"Run Away With Me," while still being a prime contender for #SummerJam2k15, breaks away from the enamored schoolgirl motif and into anthemic, "We Own The Night" unabashedness. Even the chanted chorus, "run away with me," drops the cutesy coyness of "call me, maybe?" or "I really really really really really really like you" in favor of an unapologetically loud demand.
Perhaps the most surprising track on the album, "All That" is the most outspoken tribute to the 80's, complete with slap bass, and bubble-synth embellishments to make you feel like you're in a slow-motion underwater hot tub paradise. Whereas music throwbacks often come across as horribly cheesy, "All That" is so deliciously gooey that's it's hard to believe it isn't a Cyndi Lauper cover of some Prince ballad pulled straight from the obligatory prom slow dance in all 80's movies.
Although she slows it down nicely, Jepsen knows where her strengths lie, so we return to the Summer Jams playlist for "Making The Most Of The Night." The first time I heard the track, it struck me as similar to Sia's "Chandelier"--undoubtedly a huge pop record, but tinted with a strikingly dark tone. As it turns out, Sia's presence is there in a much higher capacity: she co-wrote the song alongside Jepsen, just one of many among the impressive throng of big name collaborators on the album (others include Shellback of Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 production fame, and Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij).
"Warm Blood" is a really interesting departure for the album; it's an electronic-infused alternative track. It finds its place somewhere in the midst of CHVRCHES and Banks, the meeting ground of deep bass and a fluttering vocal performance. It's definitely one for those alt- friends who are skeptical of anything with Jepsen's name attached.
I would like to say that this album shattered my expectations, but honestly it came so out of the blue that I didn't have any expectations to be surpassed. Emotion is an expertly executed answer to Taylor Swift's similarly 80's-inspired 1989, and succeeds not as a machine for producing hit singles, but as a treasure of an album from start to finish. After "Call Me Maybe," Carly Rae Jepsen was all but crowned queen of the one-hit wonder club, but Emotion proves that she has the versatility and chops to establish herself as a bona fide pop star, head and shoulders (and knees and toes) above her contemporaries.
