The Loveliest Time

AlbumJul 28 / 202313 songs, 43m 35s
Dance-Pop
Popular

Throughout human history, the two most reliable motivations for making art have been revenge and infatuation. Carly Rae Jepsen has written hundreds, if not thousands, of aching synth-pop bangers dedicated to the latter, a body of work devoted rigorously to The Crush—crush as a means of transformation, crush as a psychedelic experience, crush as a night drive on a dark highway with the wind in your hair. “Do you really think this is a good idea?” a man’s voice asks as an engine revs on “So Right,” to which Jepsen replies, “I mean, no, probably not, but...” Moments like this lend a magic crackle of electricity to the air on *The Loveliest Time*, a B-side companion piece to 2022’s *The Loneliest Time*, as has been the Canadian songwriter’s custom since 2015’s *Emotion*. But where its predecessor highlighted the ways a crush can flourish in solitude, *The Loveliest Time* dives headfirst back into new love and all the wonderfully messy feelings that come with it. And this time around, the sounds of chill-out lounges occasionally slink in next to the sparkly disco numbers—like “Aeroplanes,” where Jepsen flirts with downtempo shuffle as she pledges to a diamond in the rough that she would “fly airplanes in the ocean for your touch.” “Shy Boy” plays it a tad cooler, a crush-drunk ’90s pop strutter on which she ever-so-coyly offers, “I put you on my list, so come downtown.” It’s a full buffet of love—stadium-sized love, weekend love, and the kind of love on “Psychedelic Switch,” Jepsen’s take on Daft Punk-y house euphoria.

3.0 / 5

Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time review: Barbenheimer II: Carly Raephex Twin (Part Two)