The Loveliest Time

By James Yu Feb. 14, 2024

Time is fleeting. Life’s limited repository of time is what makes spending time wisely quintessential. Although Carly Rae Jepsen packs a diverse assortment of sounds in her most recent album, “The Loveliest Time,” the album fails to leave a lasting impression, disposing of nearly 44 minutes of my time.

Jepsen opens the album with “Anything to Be With You.” Despite its lively arrangement of bouncy instruments which complement Jepsen’s excited vocals well, Jepsen repeatedly hoists the pitch of her voice so high it shatters my ears, making me wish that the song would end—though her squeaky voice euphorically exclaims that it will “never be over.”

Luckily, Jepsen’s subsequent song, “Kamikaze,” trades in the high pitched squeals for a vibrant melody led by heavy vocals, crafting a cohesive story of love’s often sacrificial desperation. Rising out of the melodic depths of “Kamikaze,” “After Last Night” elevates listeners to a lighthearted, wispy side of Jepsen. 

Unfortunately, despite the rest of the album’s similar bold performances similar to “After Last Night” and “Anything to Be With You,” from Jepsen throughout the rest of the album, the tracks blur into an amalgamation of tunes and themes. In spite of several relistens, past “Kamikaze,” the rest of the album remains repetitive. Although there is value in consistency, “The Loveliest Time” faces trouble distinguishing each song from the next. 

Nevertheless, Jepsen inserts a few diamonds in the rough. “Psychedelic Switch” flows well, accelerating and decelerating throughout the song when needed. Despite the forgettable nature of the songs themselves, the eighth track , “Psychedelic Switch,”, is able to build a holistic narrative in line with other songs in the album, such as “Kamikaze.”  In “Shy Boy,” Jepsen incorporates toned down ad-libs into a buoyant instrumental to form a sleek, groovy tune. However, both “Shy Boy” and “Psychedelic Switch” fail to display themselves as anything new, sounding more like reused radio hits than original songs.

“Kollage” suffers from a related issue. Although the calm, slow pace of the song sets itself apart from its peers on the album, the song does not bring anything new to listeners, instead doing a mediocre job of an overdone emotional style.

Overall, despite claiming to present listeners with “The Loveliest Time,” Jepsen’s latest album misses the mark. Its repetitive performances, despite demonstrating strong potential, find themselves in an ocean of irrelevancy, dooming the album to never take up a moment of my time again. 

---

About the contributors

James Yu

staff writer

James Yu is a sophomore at Leland High School and a staff writer for The Charger Account. During his free time, he's obsessing over Speech and Debate, an active Boy Scout, and hanging out with friends.