In the summertime of 2015, Carly Rae Jepsen was seeking to the long run: “My want now,” she advised an interviewer, “is to see how far I can stretch pop.” Her newest strikes had developed from the good-enough appeal of Kiss—the album that contained her unexpectedly planet-dominating hit “Name Me Possibly”—into glossier, vintage-inspired territory: gated drums, squealing synths, a pair saxophone solos. ’80s pop rehashed for the brand new millennium feels staid in its omnipresence at present—however keep in mind when it really felt like a daring new thought, when embracing that second, in all its schmaltz and sentiment, might characterize a genuinely shocking creative flip?
Step one in claiming Jepsen’s future was E•mo•tion, a file of diamond-sharp songs—now a decade previous, re-released as a deluxe tenth anniversary version. In numerous interviews, she has rejected the notion that pop music—hers or anybody else’s—should be thought of a “responsible pleasure,” and E•mo•tion is, fittingly, a file of full-on pleasure: unselfconscious, effervescent, no irony to be discovered. These are songs about large emotions, matched by big-budget manufacturing, evincing a shameless devotion to pure pop: uptempo, tightly structured, full of singable hooks and lyrics that don’t precisely maintain up completely underneath scrutiny but nonetheless scan as instantly relatable. “Run Away With Me” is the aural equal of a confetti cannon, the sonic translation of the best way a crush makes you’re feeling invincible. “Boy Issues” is neon and buoyant with its groovy bassline, refrain of na na nas, and percussion stabs just like the sort of textual content you ship with 15 exclamation marks. The exceptions to the bubblegum bangers components are equally rewarding: The brooding, breathy “Heat Blood” and the poised ballad “All That” gently widen Jepsen’s sound with out changing into a distraction.