Review Summary: A sugar rush.
If you were introduced to Camila Cabello around the time of her debut record, and haven’t paid much attention since ‘Havana’ was dominating streaming services, then you’re in the same boat as most of her dedicated fanbase when it comes to
C,XOXO. That is simply to say that Cabello’s fourth LP is such a stark reinvention of her craft that the music is barely recognizable as her own – and that’s a good thing. She’s no longer the purveyor of comfortingly familiar Latin pop; now, she resides somewhere in between Charli XCX’s tricked-out hyperpop and Ariana Grande’s sweet, addicting hooks. Synths tremble and soar, wrapping themselves around gorgeous piano keys, and bite-sized intro tracks are sprinkled throughout the experience all while guest rappers fade in and out of the mix.
C,XOXO is a bit messy, to be clear – but the controlled chaos is a welcome transformation on the heels of a career that has been largely devoid of anything…
not neat. Camila Cabello has crafted her statement album. While that doesn’t always equate to “best” (although in this case, it does), the
statement is to embrace change, to challenge yourself, to be completely true to who you are, and perhaps above all, to
just have fun with it. As such,
C,XOXO ends up being a summer banger from one of the most unlikely sources.
The mission is clear from the onset of ‘I LUV IT’, which contrasts repetitive titular chants against a layered chorus that samples Gucci Mane’s 2009 track ‘Lemonade.’ It’s far from the style that Cabello made her name with, and it immediately paints
C,XOXO in a different light. The Playboi Carter feature neither bolsters nor detracts from ‘I LUV IT’’s momentum, placing it squarely between the album’s worst (Drake’s random insertion, ‘Uuugly’, is a total slog even at two minutes) and the release’s best cameo (Lil Nas X adds a jolt of adrenaline to the conclusion of ‘HE KNOWS’). Camila is at her best when she’s attacking her new surroundings solo, however. Just listen to ‘Chanel No.5’, where the noticeable structure of her intentional repetition is naturally balanced out by the hazy, almost drunken state of those off-kilter piano notes. Even amid the oft-inconsequential lyrics, her convincing delivery somehow manages to make lines like “cute girl with a sick mind, I know just how to play my cards right” sound confessional and “she’s an extra, I’m your leading lady” seem all the more empowering. Meanwhile, ‘Twentysomethings’ almost accidentally delivers a mantra of young adulthood, with “Twenty-somethin's in love, in lust, in confusion / Dancin' while our hearts are bruisin’’ sounding like the kind of line that could be screamed from the backseat of an Uber after another emptihearted night spent trying to party the loneliness away. It’s all highlighted and compounded by the defeated exhale of an admission, “Don't know what the fuck I'm doin'.”
C,XOXO isn’t a
deep record, though. It hangs its hat on being
just the right blend of weird and infectious. It’s an album that wants you to stop and notice that really strange inflection, that unanticipated glitch, or the chance piano that cuts through the discord like a shimmering melodic ray. The album won’t make anyone forget about
BRAT, but it also wasn’t designed with the intent to carry that sort of cultural significance – this is very much a bratt
y, fun-loving thirty minute long sugar rush that is catchier than it is cathartic, ephemeral but unforgettable. There’s perhaps no better example than ‘DREAM-GIRLS’ – the hook-laden, reggaeton-infused late record banger that feels like
C,XOXO’s most instantly gratifying melody amid its newfound glitch/hyperpop bend. The pleasure here is derived from just how well Camila balances her ambitious new approach with her penchant for crafting effortlessly addicting melodies and choruses.
C,XOXO is Cabello betting big on herself, and that gamble has paid off with her liveliest and most adventurous outing to date.
This album is imperfect by all measures. It's derivative at times, its attention seems scattered, and it can feel intentionally immature – particularly in the lyrical department. Yet, there's a magic to this that is undeniable. It comes partially from Cabello’s innate charm as a songwriter, as well as her beautiful voice. However, the driving force behind
C,XOXO is her willingness to throw away everything that got her to this point and start anew. It’s the sort of move that gets hailed as admirable and inspiring when it works, or panned when it falls short of expectations. Fortunately for Cabello,
C,XOXO represents so much about what’s right with pop music in 2024. It’s sonically daring, and challenges itself to be both unique from the scene and true to its creator. On the closing track ‘June Bloom’, Camila sings “I guess I'll fuck around and find out.” Let’s be glad she did.
