Album Review: Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Emotion”
Nobody expected anything from Carly Rae Jepsen. After the immense success of her 2012 chart-topping single “Call Me Maybe,” Jepsen fell of the map and became yet another recipient of one-hit-wonder status, which the world pretty much accepted. But against all odds, she returns stronger than ever 3 years later with her new album, Emotion, which comes out today. It only takes a listen through the first two songs to realize that this is some of the best pop music of the year- the beats are subtle but busy, catchy but not over the top, and fun without being annoying.
Jepsen teamed up with people from all over the music world to help her on her album, from Vampire Weekend’s Rotsam Batmanglij (on the slow, pulsing “Warm Blood”) to Sia (the upbeat, disco-club “Making the Most of the Night”). Every song on the album is a hit, with Jepsen channeling her inner retro to bring to the table tracks like “All That” which sounds like it belongs in an 80s prom, with the lights down low as couples slow-dance to the live band.
While she experiments with different pop vibes, her music is still bubbly and cute, and the best example of this is in the lead single “I Really Like You,” with its unforgettable chorus of “I really really really really really like you / And I want you / Do you want me? Do you want me too?” No song on the album is a misstep- whatever types of pop music Jepsen includes throughout her album, she consistently delivers, and Emotion could very easily end up being the best pop album of the year.
Grade: A
Best Songs: Run Away With Me, Making the Most of the Night
