[ALBUM REVIEW] – ARIANA GRANDE – ‘Thank U, Next’

[ALBUM REVIEW]

Artist/Album: 

ARIANA GRANDE – ‘Thank U, Next’

Record Labels:  Republic

Release Date:    02/08/19

Singles (thus far): “Thank U, Next”, “7 Rings”, & “Break Up With Your Girlfriend…”

Last August, Ariana Grande returned to the limelight a mega-star, thanks to her wildly-successful (but emotionally underwhelming) ‘Sweetener’.  Can I blame her though?  From her overly-perceived diva outbursts publicly; the tragic Manchester bombing canceling her UK tour; Mac Miller’s death; embarrassing tattoo failure; to her quick engagement & break-up with Pete Davidson – she’s been dealing with a lot mentally.  ‘Sweetener’ had fluttery bubble-gum hits, but felt over-produced & sugar-coated.  Unfocused, detached, impersonal, and I saw through its forced sense of positivity.  In my mind, there had to be more going on in her psyche & it was frustrating she didn’t pour it into her music.  Fast-forward to the reveal of this album’s title ‘Thank U, Next’, and I knew she was bringing totally different emotions and may be ready to open up.

Things kick off with December’s promo cut “Imagine”, where dreamy-yet-grand composition, allows Grande to bring back her complex vocal runs, meatier harmonizing, & whistle-register – all of which felt absent on ‘Sweetener’.  Perky title-track “Thank U, Next” is a catchy but bitter denouncement of her failed relationships, calling them out by 1st name.  “Needy” is a candid, woozy confessional ballad over lone snaps & elegant keys that’s a good pace-setter for the project’s whole mood.  Five months isn’t long, but the overall reflective writing is my favorite improvement.  The somber “Ghostin” pairs her raw feelings of being broken by both love & loss; over a faint, stripped down, ghostly sample of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller’s “2009” – a noticeable centerpiece of the album.  The bad-intentioned “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” makes for a bouncy promiscuous banger.  There’s a great middle stretch of ambitious, slower-tempo jams like: the man-don’t-kill-my-vibe “Bloodline”; the murky and sad “Fake Smile”; the playful-yet-cocky “7 Rings”; her suggestion of sex as an anesthetic on “Bad Idea”; to her metaphor for needing space on “NASA” – some of her more adventurous tracks to date. 

Many songs were introspective, showing her layers of anxiety, desire, & crazy clash of thoughts, so it was tough finding many I didn’t enjoy.  “Make Up” while flexing some cool deliveries, stood out as a clangy, less-inspired, Lilly Allen-esque contemporary jingle, closer to the ‘Sweetener’ sound I’d like to leave behind.  Elsewhere, the synth-heavy trappy-adlibbed “In My Head” was less conceptual and felt equally too busy & under-developed. 

A rather interesting therapy session.  I genuinely liked 10-of-12 tracks, so I’m grading ‘Thank U, Next’ as a *SUPERIOR ALBUM* and one of the year’s best.  It’s a welcomed opposite to the radio-friendly ‘Sweetener’ – but instead of being sour, it’s rather salty.  It’s darker, sparse mood music, that’s sometimes veiled in attitude, pain, regret, and/or chilly sadness.  Artistically, Ariana's less Pop-diva here, and it plays more like honest-to-herself diary entries.  My favorite songs I recommend are: “Bloodline”, “Fake Smile”, “Bad Idea”, “Thank U, Next”, “Ghostin”, & “NASA”.

MY FINAL VERDICT:

5 STARS (out of 6)