Luke Roethler
Carly Rae Jepsen has struck gold with the release of her new album Emotion: Side B, a sequel to her previous album of the same name.
The new album is made up of tracks that were not on the original album Emotion. This includes songs that were only available in Japan and tracks that were previously unreleased.
Emotion: Side B reflects the 80’s style set by Jepsen’s previous album. The album features mainly synthetic beats with a slight techno feel, like a milder version of Madonna. The mixture of old and new styles results in songs that are peppy, catchy, and faintly nostalgic to anyone who enjoys the sound of the 1980’s.
Though Jepsen can often come off as just another superficial pop star, upon deeper examination, her songs reveal profound meanings and engaging themes such as the joy of new love or the tragedy of love lost.
Every track in Emotion has a profound, relatable meaning. “Cry,” for instance, is about a stoic lover unable to feel and express his emotions in a healthy way. Though “Store” ma at first sound like a generic pop song about running errands, it is really about. ghosting a significant other.
Even though Emotion, the first album, was met with widespread critical acclaim, it had disappointing sales. The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 and dropped to number 67. It only sold about 16,000 copies. The new album is not set to perform any better as it was largely unpromoted.
Jepsen’s new release is a continuation of a masterpiece. It is full of deep yet peppy tracks that are sure tide us all over until the release of her next full album.
