On E·MO·TION, every chorus explodes, every hook is impossibly catchy, and every song sounds like a Top 40 single waiting to happen. It improves on Jepsen’s previous effort Kiss in every way: her vocals are more confident, backed by music and production that effortlessly compliment them.
An even more consistent album than Kiss, E-MO-TION further defines Jepsen as an equally stylish and earnest pop artist.
E•MO•TION is the sound of a girl who’s had her career-defining smash; now she just wants to have fun.
It’s also the best gift you never asked for, or even knew you wanted in the first place. I could say the same about CRJ herself, a minor pop star who’s emerged as the genre’s newest MVP.
It's so proud to be pop and hopefully this'll make others realise it's never a guilty pleasure to enjoy songs that make you happy; songs that make you wanna dance your ass off.
It is an extremely ambitious album, but Carly never loses sight of what makes a truly brilliant pop song. There are over-the-top giddy pop rushes and moments when she holds herself and the music back. The execution is always just right.
Not every pop record needs to challenge societal perceptions, alter the industry or push the sociopolitical conversation forward. Emotion aspires to none of those things, and that’s a crucial part of what makes it so great.
If there’s any justice, Emotion will propel her to superstardom—but even if it doesn’t, she can at least rest easy knowing she made one of 2015’s most interesting, effervescent records.
Emotion rolls out banger after banger, all while sustaining a remarkable level of complexity and compassion for everyone in Jepsen’s solar system.
These are perfect pop songs; a few more rare glimpses of their rougher edges would make them all the more spectacular.
Emotion is further proof that Jepsen is capable of translating broadly understood emotions and experiences into unshakable earworms.
E MO TION isn’t a stablemate of innovation, nor does it have an elaborate, all-encompassing concept; its allure stems from its consistency, with each and every track seamlessly passing the baton to the next without any significant dip in momentum.
Emotion succeeds on its own terms, arguably remaining truer to the spirit of the era, not to mention Jepsen’s stated aim of taking the time to craft an album rather than rushing to cash in on a YouTube sensation.
E.MO.TION has all the tenets of a successful pop record, but feels more cultivated than previous work.
For all its ironclad hooks and studio precision, Jepsen's third album, like her second, lacks the personality of the most memorable pop records.
Almost every track is like a bouncy castle: fun, certainly, but not made for long-term stays.
E•MO•TION is 2015’s Pop Album for Non-Pop People ... It’s definitely a bid for the middle while Jepsen’s chartmates Beyoncé and Lady Gaga bleed the edges.
Carly Rae Jepsen's latest album is a finely tuned piece of pop.
The 29-year-old Canadian has regrouped and made a surprisingly sophisticated ’80s-influenced pop album.
Although E•MO•TION’s pleasures are slightly more subtle that your average Top 40 affair, this is still a glossy pop record that is defined by its hooks. The songs that lack dynamite choruses don’t make much of an impression.
Her voice is fine, rather than outstanding. She doesn’t do anything to stamp her identity on the songs: good as they are, you’re struck by the sense you could be listening to anyone.
For all its unexpected sounds and catchy choruses, Emotion falters in its lyrical blandness.
Make no mistake, E·MO·TION is still a very pleasing album if not just a shade overambitious, clearly trying too hard to make the same genius pop moments that Kiss churned them out with effortless flair.
While E•MO•TION crackles and fizzes in places with moments of pure pop joy, there are big chunks of this record that sound as though they’ve been machine-assembled on a production line. From the 1980s. With Belinda Carlisle in place of a foreman.
At its best, pop is a short, sharp burst of pure ebullience, but here Carly Rae Jepsen and her production team try overly hard to be clever. In the end, what's left is a record that takes itself too seriously to be taken seriously by anyone else.
Nostalgia: The Album
EDIT: seriously though its impressive that a single album can contain nostalgia for two completely different time periods at the same time
It has some amazing songs, but it also has a lot of extremely forgettable tracks throughout it’s entirety. Love some of tracks on here a lot. Maybe her next stuff wins me over more
Pure Romanticisim– to be indulging those summer crushes and neighborhood infatuations– to revel in first loves and first heartbreaks. It's a celebration of the mundane, to treat the dreary as grandiose, and indulge yourself. All around it's just such a good time– heartfelt, genuine, and charming pop music. It's just pure bliss all the way through. I won't claim it's pop perfection– the record drags on the latter six songs– but there are moments in here that I'd die ... read more
1 | Run Away with Me 4:11 | 97 |
2 | E•MO•TION 3:17 | 93 |
3 | I Really Like You 3:24 | 90 |
4 | Gimmie Love 3:22 | 87 |
5 | All That 4:36 | 88 |
6 | Boy Problems 3:42 | 89 |
7 | Making the Most of the Night 3:58 | 89 |
8 | Your Type 3:19 | 91 |
9 | Let’s Get Lost 3:13 | 87 |
10 | LA Hallucinations 3:04 | 85 |
11 | Warm Blood 4:13 | 81 |
12 | When I Needed You 3:41 | 87 |
#1 | / | Cosmopolitan |
#1 | / | Popjustice |
#2 | / | Entertainment Weekly |
#2 | / | Mashable |
#2 | / | People |
#3 | / | Noisey |
#3 | / | Stereogum |
#3 | / | Variance |
#4 | / | TIME |
#5 | / | Idolator |