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CRITIC REVIEWS

83
Consequence of Sound

Positions fits neatly in the pop princess’ catalogue and feels like a worthy continuation of her story. The narratives (much like the vocals) are lush, filled with graceful twists and turns, plenty of side characters to keep our attention, and a star worth rooting for.

80
PopMatters

Ariana Grande's Positions is a perfect pop album in a very conservative sense of the term.

80
The Irish Times

Using her big voice to whisper through songs that flip your expectations with tempo and ferocity, Positions is a mellow but upfront affair ... Even though bangers are scarce on the ground, Positions solidifies Grande as one of pop’s leading voices.

80
Clash
With 'Positions', Grande has positioned herself comfortably in a genre that she’s all too familiar with.
80
The Observer

With her pleasure-seeking hubris leaving little to the imagination, perhaps it’s unsurprising that the production plays it fairly safe: Grande falls comfortably back on 90s-indebted, trap-speckled R&B, her voice breathy and gleaming.

80
The Line of Best Fit

Positions is Ariana Grande’s most carefree, playful, and mature work to date.

80
Exclaim!

While thank u, next was an album of self-realization, Positions is an album of self-indulgence.

74
Pitchfork
Her third album in two years searches for peace, tracing the quiet work of piecing yourself together and delighting in giddy new romance at the same time.
72
Paste

With Positions, Grande shows that strength can be found in vulnerability, leaving us with a message that feels particularly resonant right now, when everyone is struggling in one way or another.

70
The Forty-Five
On ‘Positions’, the star’s sixth record, you sense she might be enjoying a new calm.
70
Rolling Stone

Positions is minor growth, major strength and a solid step forward in the right direction for one pop’s most exciting stars.

67
Entertainment Weekly

It might not make for her most arresting album nor her most dramatic, but it’s certainly her most sensuous.

67
A.V. Club

Positions isn’t a perfect album, but the LP is a more-than-worthy stepping stone to whatever comes next for the artist.

63
Beats Per Minute

The lack of grit, grunge or goo keeps Positions distant from the listener, sitting far away, somewhere in the dark. Grande needs them to listen, but there’s still no emotional dialogue between the two parties or greater insight into the core of the issues that have her, eternally, switch her “positions” for others.

60
Spectrum Culture

The lack of cohesion here could have perhaps been remedied by allowing a bit more time for the music to grow.

60
The Telegraph
Ariana Grande leaves her traumas behind with an RnB album dedicated solely to sex – but it doesn’t quite hit the spot.
60
Evening Standard

Positions is a loved-up wallow in every aspect of a newish serious relationship, from relaxed domesticity to worries about whether this one can really last, to extraordinary quantities of sex.

60
The Independent

She’s likeable and compelling as an artist, even when she’s at her most creatively static, settling on what is comfortable rather than anything slightly dangerous.

60
The Guardian

The tabloids are frothing about the R&B singer’s ‘steamy’ new direction, but her sixth album blurs into one long slow jam.

60
Slant Magazine
It might be time for contemporary pop’s reigning vocal acrobat to more fully commit to some new positions.
60
NME

The star's lyrical content is jaw-droppingly good fun, and this sixth record does feature some massive pop tunes – alongside more indistinct material.

60
AllMusic

Maybe this the entire point of Positions--it's meant to be sex music, nothing more, nothing less--but the swift succession of albums suggests that Grande may have been better off slowing her creative process down just enough to help sculpt the album into a soundtrack that has an ebb and flow, instead of a single sustained thrum.

50
The Needle Drop

What Positions has in sensuality it lacks in the production quality and introspection of a Thank U, Next.

50
Sputnikmusic

Listening to positions is a strain on the patience of anyone who enjoys infectious choruses, quality lyrics, or sonic diversity, and it’s easily Ariana Grande’s worst album to date.

50
musicOMH

Once the novelty of hearing about the very healthy state of Ariana’s sex life wears off, there’s not much that’s particularly memorable on Positions.

Tristan
NR

My friend told me that if I didn't like this record she would kill me...
if I never review again, you all know what happened.

This is the exact kind of release you would expect from her: pointless, boring, and redundant. So empty it almost sends shivers down my spine. She stands firmly, like a rock, in her small bubble of sheltered pop muzak, never daring to so much as attempt anything new or interesting. There is very little (if any) substance to take from this album. It drifts by like the ... read more

PipePanic
47

Guys.

69 is the sex number.

Holy shit.

Edit: So I listened to the album and...yeah, 69 is still the sex number. Why did no one tell me this sooner?!

Favorite Jams: shut up, love language

Lest Favorite: litterally everything else.

MattsReviews
50

Ariana Grande comes back again with another disappointing project. Ariana has a lot of potential, she really does. She has a nice voice, but she decides to use it the wrong way. But, this is the way she blew up, so of course she's just going to extend further on it. With this new album, it's not much different than her other stuff . I mean it's kinda R&B but like, a disgrace to it? This album is extremely mediocre at best, and it's sad.

We start off with "shut up" which I just ... read more

ces_tirso
50

First Experience: It's an average album, with little variation in production, making all the songs very similar, which made me slightly bored listening.

Added to my playlist: motive and positions.

_Lumael
99

shut up - 8/10
34+35 - 10/10
motive - 8/10
just like magic - 10/10
off the table - 10/10
six thirty - 8/10
safety net - 8/10
my hair - 10/10
nasty - 8/10
west side - 10/10
love language - 10/10
positions - 10/10
obvious - 10/10
pov - 10/10

lucidreiji
84

shut up - 6
34+35 - 8
motive - 8
just like magic - 8
off the table - 10
six thirty - 8
safety net - 8
my hair - 10
nasty - 9
west side - 8
love language - 7
positions - 9
obvious - 9
pov - 10

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Track List

1shut up
2:37
64
234+35
2:53
67
3motive
2:47
75
4just like magic
2:29
71
5off the table
3:59
73
6six thirty
3:03
64
7safety net
3:28
78
8my hair
2:38
78
9nasty
3:20
68
10west side
2:12
63
11love language
2:59
73
12positions
2:52
80
13obvious
2:26
69
14pov
3:21
85
Total Length: 41 minutes
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Added on: October 21, 2020