Expectations were extremely high for Carly Rae Jepsen after the release of “Call Me Maybe” in 2012. On Aug. 21 Jepsen released “Emotion” as her third studio album.
“Emotion” features a multitude of different producers and writers, and while each bring their own unique sound to the album, the collaborations lead to a hodgepodge of contrasting noise and an overall lackluster album.
Jepsen is best known for her hit single “Call Me Maybe” with its high energy beat and lyrics about the cute boy down the street. While “Emotion” is still jam packed with similar sounds, the album also introduces the listener to Jepsen’s more mature and serious side.
“Emotion” is headlined by the previously released single “I Really Like You,” which continues the story of “Call Me Maybe” as she explains how much she misses the boy and wants to be with him. “I really, really, really, really, really, really like you,” Jepson sings, highlighting her lust, but not leaving much to the listener’s imagination.
Jepsen seems to have an understanding of the pop genre that most of her fans expect of her, but the album shows her desire to go deeper and have more meaningful and insightful lyrics. The combination of her wanting to please her fans and explore her inner self leads to an unsavory result.
“Warm Blood” demonstrates Jepsen’s struggle to redefine her career. Slow rhythmic beats produced by Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij are accompanied by deeper and more significant lyrics, such as, “I’ve got a cavern of secrets / None of them are for you / Even if you wanted to keep them.”
“Favourite Colour” brings the album to a close. As Jepsen sings softly over the tranquil beat, the listener can now start to fully appreciate the matured Jepsen. In the chorus Jepsen repeatedly sings, “Paint me up, me up, me up / You’re my favourite colour,” almost as if she is calling to her fans and telling them that this is her new self.
“Emotion”, as a whole, did not live up to the high expectations that it had acquired. At times it seemed as if Jepsen phoned in the songs, doing what she had to do to sell records.