You might have heard of Carly Rae Jepsen through pop classics ‘I really like you’ and ‘Good time’, in collaboration with Owl City, or most likely her 2012 smash hit single ‘Call me maybe’. And now, two years on from her most recent album ‘Dedicated’, she is back and firing on all cylinders with ‘The Loneliest time’.
Released on the 21st of October 2022, you’d be forgiven for not realising CRJ had a new album out amid the fervour and madness of albums released by Taylor Swift, Arctic Monkeys and Loyle Carner. You might have thought she’d move the release to a new day to try and stand out in the crowd but soldier on she did, and Jepsen’s new album was released to the CRJ faithful, excited to pore over her new direction teased in the ‘Dedicated’ B side. Hopefully there aren’t too many aggrieved Swifties, furious that Jepsen even dares encroach on her album release but hey! you can’t make omelette without breaking a few eggs.
The Album opens with ‘Surrender My Heart’, a tentative love song smothered in dreamy synth. The chorus is a punchy melody that has everything but the punch, the pre-chorus stole snares from Phil Collins but in this standard pop song they just create an underwhelming song to be played as background gym music.
‘Joshua Tree’ is the first of the songs that Jepsen sings of her love of California. It opens with a simple muted guitar reminiscent of Charlie Puth’s ‘Attention’, and her opening melody sets the song up for a catchy hook. Although the chorus and its bass line are enjoyable, the song is remarkably unoriginal and sounds like a product of a song writing production line.
Carly Rae Jepsen released a bold new look for this album. Bleach blond hair and a full sparkly skin-tight catsuit are a sight to behold. She’s clearly trying to mould her image around 90s superstars Madonna and Kylie, or maybe more recently Mylie Cyrus’ powerful raunchy look. You can’t argue with the logic to try and imitate the greats – when in Rome, do as the Romans do. And it is certainly a revival, although maybe not as iconic as those she is trying to invoke.
Up next on the album is ‘Western Wind‘. Beautifully written lyrics following the Californian theme tell a love story with references to the classic love story of Psyche and Eros. Call me Stephen Fry but I love a mythical reference, especially when it’s about the Greeks. Afrobeat drums and a cool synth reflect the warm feeling of a Zephyr, a gentle western wind, hitting your body. You might have heard this word before in the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s track ‘The Zephyr song‘, but the word actually comes from the Greek god of the west wind, Zephyrus. Also, a representation of springtime, referencing a zephyr can also be a representation of a new love blossoming, reflected in the chorus, ‘First bloom you know its spring’. The final nail in the coffin of love, Jepsen refers to her lover as her ‘golden arrow’ just as Eros was struck by his arrow from his own bow, causing him to fall for Psyche. The
lyrics and music intertwine beautifully to make ‘Western Wind’ my favourite track on the album.
The next few tracks on the album ‘So Nice’, ‘Bad Thing Twice’ and ‘Shooting Star’ all blend into songs I can’t tell apart upon first listen and could be named by some people as ‘lift music’. All the songs have a nice beat, a few ululating synths and funky basslines but other than that there is nothing of note. I’m not really sure what Carly Rae Jepsen is on about in ‘Bad Thing Twice’, where she can’t stop saying the word ‘skipper’ until she sounds a little mad.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it’s probably a Canadian thing.
Then to top it all off, CRJ comes out with ‘Go Find Yourself Or Whatever’, an acoustic guitar ballad that doesn’t fit with the rest of the album. It’s a sad country break up song, unlike the rest of the album that’s a dreamy synth-disco-happy-new-love record. Although it is a nice song to listen to, I think Carly needs to go find her sound. Or whatever.
‘The Loneliest Time’ is the final Song on the album of the same name (not including the bonus tracks). Featuring Rufus Wainwright, a Canadian singer who looks remarkably like Rufus Hound from that CBBC program Hounded, the song has a similar sound to Two Door Cinema Club’s 2016 album ‘Gameshow’. Its cheeky lyrics talk of getting back with their ex, hoping they didn’t lose feelings. Rufus, playing the ex, talks of feeling the same and the uplifting but funky bass line and beautiful string accompaniment provide the listeners hope of love being rekindled. The sentiment of the song is perfectly encapsulated by the post chorus hook ‘Do you wanna try’, sung by Jepsen herself and the final line, ‘is this nirvana’ sang repeatedly provides the perfect closure and moves Jepsen’s image to an established popstar, happy and in love. This sassy new Jepsen is a beautiful end to and album that has an eclectic mix of songs, in both genre and quality.
There are three bonus tracks on the album and ‘Anxious’ is definitely the pick of the three. However, I can’t understand the difference between a bonus track and a B side, especially as the last album also had B side, but I think it is sadly just an excuse for Jepsen not to play the tracks on her upcoming tour. To top things off she is not even coming to Sheffield, but you can see her on the 7th February 2023 at the O2 Academy in Leeds if you really want to.
This is the first time I have ever listened to a Carly Rae Jepsen album the whole way through and, to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Although it’s more a collection of songs than an album, and she hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel, there are some nicely written songs. Namely ‘Western Wind’, and her new 90s sound is bright and sparkly, bringing some colour and personality to her tracks. On the whole, this is music I would expect to hear whilst getting a haircut on one of those music television channels, but there are one or two redeeming tracks.
4/10