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This album came out of nowhere for me. It was late 2019 and I was really fucking sad. Then boom I find this album from 2015 and I finally understand why my friend had it on display in his apartment. I love this album so much that Run Away with Me was my top streamed song in 2020. My Top Albums list is only for new releases but while I streamed Bell Witch a whole lot Carly had my heart the entire year.
I found this album at the perfect time with COVID-19 about to lock down the entire world I needed a brighter spot in my life. And not to mention I was engaging more with my general femininity and having a song that evoked those ... emotions ... in myself was perfect.
The open track "Run Away With Me" I may have brought up before as one of the best opening tracks ever but its up there. I would put it up there as a perfect pop song.
Aside: The entire album has crossover appeal due to Carly's amazing vocals and the 80s inspired production its pure pop.
Run Away with Me starts with the sax. Sax is the fucking perfect pop instrument. The world needs more sax. It lays down the motif of the song a sound of love and longing. It's romantic and almost heart breaking. Then it drops out and we get a 4 on the floor drum machine as Carly basically sings unaccompanied as the mix slowly builds through the verse until that snare. Then the chorus hits and its just MMM. The chorus brings back the sax and the funkiest bass. Then the second part of the chorus is a hook on a hook. Only to drop back out and we return to the laid back building chorus. It's a repetitive pop song (as pop songs should be). The side chaining on the rest of the production is there to just make it thump and mmm! How can you not dance to this song? The bridge is a continuation of the chorus until we lose the drums and its just a filtered pad until we come back in with that snare and we get the revised chorus and outro. It's a perfect pop song in a perfect pop album.
If you don't listen to anything from this list just listen to this song.
Emotion is a really well done song. I like the idea of loving just how much you're living rent free in his head. Its like shes teasing her lover building him up. The whole song is a tease and its just! Hehe.
I Really Like You is the most streamed song from the album. It has a sweet 808 in it that just thumps. It's great. It's a cute song and a bit more straight forward. This song its more obvious just how much production is going on behind the scenes. You really only hear the drum kit and her vocals but you feel everything else filling out the mix. There isn't a frequency left unused. But it's not busy. Sure actual 80s pop left so much more air than modern pop. Even in the bridge it's supposed to be laid back like in Run Away with Me but there is strings and a pad laying a base down so its not just vocals.
Gimme Love is the first song that isn't necessarily a straight forward pop song. Its a slower song and no where near as big as the previous tracks. Its such a desperate song and the way the chorus actually is the part where they drop out most of the accompaniment is really interesting until we get to the bridge where we get the guitar from verses and some actual chorus (mostly as Ooohs) vocals bringing up the energy. This could be seen as a darker spot in the album if you're looking just for those pumping pop tracks but then you get hit with the next track.
All That is the ballad with the sexy bass and shimmering keys. The bass on this album is funky and amazing. It carries the entire album. And this track proves it. Its a really good ballad. There isn't much more to say. The quivering vocals in the chorus are something I wasn't expecting and found to love immediately. This really feels like it could've been a Spice Girls track and they layer in some extra vocals from her to make that effect even stronger.
Boy Problems is great. It was originally one my least favorite tracks. Mostly because I can't look past some of the production on the vocals especially in what Spotify is saying "I've got 'em too" its almost like either Carly adds an extra syllable in there that just feels odd?... But I love the song. It's just so basic in a relatable way. I love it.
I think Making The Most Of The Night is the sleeper hit of the album. The production on the chorus is perfect. The entire song is prefect. The music and percussion creates this motion that really brings the energy the lyrics are painting. I am surprised it wasn't a single.
It makes sense that I Really Like You and Run Away With Me are the singles. But so was "Your Type". Which is also a great choice! Her vocals in this song are amazing. I really don't know how to talk about electronic music production that's this busy because I don't have the words to describe it. This follows similar pop tropes the rest of the album does. Dropping out to just the vocals and drums to create this feeling that when they come back in its just so big and amazing and huge. I do like the idea Carly is "not their type" girl please. But a bit like Gimme Love that type of desperate pop resonates and is really really good. She does it well.
Let's Get Lost is funky and you just wanna dance in your seat. And the sax is back! A classic.
LA Hallucinations is a bit more modern style pop at first but the chorus is back to that 80s pop we wanted. Its interesting having this bubblegum pop song that's basically saying "I got corrupted by LA and I wish I could go back to when we were happy". I like it.
Warm Blood was what I was afraid at first was gunna keep this album off of the list. But then I realized its a vampire love song. But behind a few of the songs is that 2015 down pitched vocal that I hate and its in this song. Some of my ideals peak through that aren't present trying to paint this as a vampire song when if it is its very mixed metaphors. But its not weak enough to break the album. It's got a lot going for it. I love the outro - singing about such an intimate and physical intimacy through the metaphor of "warm blood" while singing in a low soft voice. It's really cool track. I'd remix it and remove the down pitched part.
When I Need You has one of my favorite pop elements in it. In the opening pre-chorus she layers this backing support vocal repeating the previously sung line "You come to me in dreams at night". It's so cheesy but I love it. I love the lyrics of this because it addresses such a common mistake in love of thinking you're the one who should change to fix a problem but if you think about it "no wait, its not working for my lack of trying... you're just a scrub" and a change to yourself would like be a step back in your life. I love this track. I've been there girl.
So there is a very popular deluxe edition that adds some new tracks. I'm talking the classic 12 track album.
From what I can read (I try not and read into albums before these as I want to be my reaction directly. This is more a journey with me than a proper analysis and what not). But I had already read this when I was getting into the album that their goal was to make something different. To make an 80s pop album. A Cindy Lauper record. And while it comes at it with a lot modern production technique and tropes it still shakes things up. I genuinely believe this is a must have for everyone. It's just a fantastic album from start to finish and I spin it from time to time when I'm alone and feeling sad.
I don't have as much history with this album as I do the past ones and I believe I said above - the way the production works on a pop track its a lot of things I can't really describe. Its an album that has to be felt so I would totally recommend just listening to it and forming your own opinions.
If you haven't heard this album before I really really recommend it and if you find out you love it too let me know! It's not some sleeper hit. It's a critically acclaimed pop album. But I used to hate pop. I mostly still do. But this is just a banger and proves when you bring it - it works.
Without a doubt it's Run Away With Me. I really could've treated this as a spotlight for this song and then just talked about some things I liked but I ended up giving a rant during each track anyway so I left it.
This is the first one of these where I have a clear winner.
But while this was clearly my most streamed song in 2020 - the entire album made it on my "Top Songs of 2020" playlist spotify made me. I am an album girl. I'll always put on the entire album. Just so happens the first song is the best one and its easy to put on repeat.