Carly Rae Jepsen’s new album “Kiss” has an upbeat yet immature sound that does nothing to turn me into a fan.
Released Tuesday, the album seems to carry the same high-pitched melody and dance beat with every song. Listening to the tracks, it was hard to tell when a song ended and a new one started. It all blurred together into a single never-ending track.
To Jepsen’s credit, she actually sounds older in these songs than in “Call Me Maybe,” but the lyrics still sound like they were written by a preteen girl who just had her first crush.
“Hurt So Good” is upbeat and will probably make its way to dance clubs.
“Tonight I’m Getting Over You” mixes Jepsen’s voice with high-pitched music over a bass that reminded me of techno and dubstep. The mixture of the two sounds, however, was forced and frankly made for just a messy track.
“Almost Said It,” which is a bonus track on iTunes, was my favorite song of all. It’s a slow song, which is a nice change of pace from the ultra high-pitched and fast-paced music of the rest of the album. Being that it’s about love, I’m sure everyone who listens to it could relate in even just the slightest bit.
This song has depth and meaningful lyrics that the rest of the album lacks. I wish Jepsen had actually put “Almost Said It” on the album, but I suppose I can wrap my head around her incentive not to. Bogging down the album with upbeat songs, including the already-released single “Beautiful” featuring Justin Bieber, I’m sure is just Jepsen’s attempt to have at least one of them reach the phenomenal popularity of “Call Me Maybe,” which was a song that spent far too many days stuck in my head without permission. I first thought the song was performed by a 13-year-old girl who should know nothing about being in a nightclub, and I was surprised to find out the artist was older than me.
I believe Jepsen will have moderate success with “Kiss,” but I don’t think it could reach the magnitude of “Call Me Maybe.” Only time will tell if she’s doomed a one hit wonder.
Grade: B
