Review Summary: "The girl I was never came back."
It's already been a decade since Alessia Cara dropped "Here" and emerged as a potential antisocial iconoclast. In the mid-2010s pop vanguard, her flavor was diaristic like most of her contemporaries, but with an authenticity that shined through fairly often. As such, though, of the roughly half-dozen songs she's sent up the ranks of the
Billboard Hot 100, it seems the one with the best chance at immortality is the listlessly neon-tinged "Scars To Your Beautiful." If you're buying a box of cereal or a new pair of Nikes, you're likely to hear it along the way. She definitely deserves a lot more than to just be another slice of $11.88 Walmart-core. As she's grown, I think she's become more acutely aware of her strengths as an artist, and we reap the benefits on her fourth Def Jam outing
Love & Hyberbole.
Love & Hyperbole is complete and forthright, blemishes and all. Rather than bolster the two most radio-ready songs, stuff the remaining runtime with filler and call it a day, Cara has taken the time to give all fourteen songs its own unique vignette. Everything has a story to tell, something going on, something that moves things along. It's also one of the most interesting pop albums in a while from a composition standpoint. There's live instruments abound on every track. Imbuing her comfortable R&B territory with jazz and rock expanses throughout,
Love & Hyperbole is Cara's best album yet. If you like to hear some ebullient trumpets and purposeful drums, you'll love lead single "Dead Man," which also boasts of Cara's strong vocals. Age has replaced her younger airy expression with a more varied and capable performance. She can restrain or be vulnerable in a way that elicits an immediate understanding that this is woman weathered by the pains of growing. Getting back to the music itself, "Get To You" crackles with some sizzling guitar rock inertia, and hot on its heels is "(Isn't It) Obvious", which features an extended guest guitar solo from John Mayer.
Among the album's many highlights are early favorite "Left Alone," which glides in on subtle and glassy guitars and brings Cara's vocals to the fore. Here, she's contending with the prospect of reigniting a former flame, and her apprehension is wholly justified. "No room for you on my plate, I need some energy to save," she firmly admits. She doesn't expend more of her voice than she needs to, as her decidedly quaint timbres more than carry the message across. If I had to single out one song I think could be trimmed, "Garden Interlude" comes to mind. It's inoffensive, but is definitely the weakest one here. Cara's standout vocals elevate late-stage romp "Fire", which kind of dips its toes into a little bit of country(?) with its prominent acoustic guitars and the specific tone they strike. "Slow Motion" meanwhile sails with an affinity for a new love. "No one gets me quite like you do, so I'ma bet it all on you," she thankfully proclaims. "Clearly" closes the album with another shimmering pop rock jaunt; this time, Alessia turns her attention to a companion whose connection to her initially suffered but is now stronger than ever before. "I feel the ocean between us closing in," she muses.
Barely weeks removed from a Grammy Awards ceremony where every premier girl pop album from last year vied for top honors,
Love & Hyperbole is just in a different class compared to the rest of them. Every song and composition is consistent and interesting. When the instruments come alive, they're fun and bouncy. When they scale back, they still serve a purpose. For Cara's part, she turns in an outstanding performance, her voice safe like an old friend, warm like your favorite sweater. This might be the best mainstream pop album of the 2020s thus far, it's definitely going to be tough to beat. Alessia Cara might not be sniffing the top 10 of the Hot 100, but who gives a fuck when the music is so God damn good? As spring looms over the horizon, and I look to once again find my childhood eyes, I'm glad this one will be in my rotation.
