QUEEN OF IMPROMPTU BACKYARD CONCERTS
[Video][Website]
[6.00]
Hannah Jocelyn: CRJ has built a reputation on being able to record a theme song for Fuller House, make candid comments in Billboard interviews, and release stan-favorite singles with cutesy videos in the same period of time, all while remaining self-aware but not self-conscious. PC Music encompasses most of those angles to an extent, though instead of the balance, there’s that signature smug, emotionless-uncanny-valley aesthetic rarely found in Carly’s music. That discrepancy rears its head here; PC affiliate Danny L Harle seemingly tries to undercut any earnestness she might have in her performance with an overwhelming barrage of typically cheesy jock-jam synths, though charmingly ridiculous lines like “this is easy love/everyday euphoria” and “baby it’s so bananas” manage to connect the two sides of the pop spectrum together. Amazingly, the chipmunk voices help too.
[7]
Will Adams: My well-documented disdain for PC Music and their mission to make stale commentary on pop via demented, unlistenable production has culminated in this: tapping one of my faves for a new song and leading me to believe they’re just trying to fuck with me at this point. The results, however, are just as easy to dispose as most of their catalog. The most “Super Natural” has going for it is that it’s “Wrong Feels So Right” but with slightly less terrible mixing. I initially rated this higher, but the recent release of Emotion: Side B shows that Carly Rae Jepsen is still riding a wave of creating complex and sincere work. It goes without saying that she’s winsome here, but she deserves more than playing along with sardonic takes on trance-pop.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: PC Music’s schtick of “Party Rock Anthem” x Rugrats + contemptful irony was annoying before, and it’s no less annoying with Carly Rae Jepsen, who is so much more than this year’s QT. Jepsen brings a song and personality; Harle photoshops them into a joke and a doll.
[5]
Alfred Soto: I haven’t followed the PC Music controversy or know much about them, but I know that if I were anybody with studio and sequencer access I wouldn’t imprison Carly Rae Jepsen behind rave keyboards and chimes.
[3]
Will Rivitz: It’s been a bit disheartening to see my Twitter timeline — most of which rightfully loved every bit of EMOTION — snarking the PC Music-ness of “Super Natural,” given that Carly Rae Jepsen’s love of spun-sugar bubblegum pop is what got me into Kiss four years ago. Different strokes for different folks, I guess — CRJ is magnetic as always, Danny L Harle is a pop savant as always, and I still maintain that the PC Music camp makes great pop music. Is this what it feels like to be a J. Cole fan on the internet?
[8]
Patrick St. Michel: [huge breath]Carly Rae Jepsen singing over a song created by a guy most associated with PC Music is a perfect fit. Despite being oil and water to many music writers (one being defined by “Call Me Maybe” and the other by a series of question marks to most casual music listeners), both Jepsen and Danny L Harle dabble in maximalism, sonic and emotional. “Super Natural” is a blissful example, Harle’s music skittering about and digitally la-la-ing forward, a busy but never overwhelming compliment to Jepsen’s dizzy lines about “everyday euphoria.” A very basic emotion — time-tested love, the day in and out stuff — gets the IMAX treatment it deserves.
[8]
Scott Mildenhall: If you want to capture the euphoria of something like “L’Amour Toujours” or “The Way” or “Come With Me” or “Shooting Star” or a million other songs vaguely in this ballpark, you could do with being far more melodically dynamic. As those songs prove, you can be relentlessly upbeat and still make time for variation, imagination, and often even sadness. Carly Rae Jepsen’s performance does actually sound like it comes from something more dynamic, but as loud as this wants to be, the energy is slightly flat. Best course of action: swap CRJ for CMC and Danny L Harle for Jurgen Vries.
[6]
Peter Ryan: She’s probably one of the few earthly entities that could make this dude sound the least bit fun and carefree, which, relatively speaking, this is! It’s more of a real song than his past swipes at Actual Pop, and he wisely doesn’t process the vocal within an inch of its life. But “more human” doesn’t cut it, and he’s still a self-proclaimed “fucking cool riff”-aficionado whose squiggling around repeatedly kills any hints at momentum. Plus, CRJ would never loose a lyric this devoid of a solid perspective on her public, not even as a B-side. During a bumper crop of Carly Rae content, it takes a lot to stand out.
[5]
David Sheffieck: Carly Rae Jepsen has somehow managed to release two albums’ worth of material in the past year, and there’s not a dud in the batch. “Super Natural” extends the streak again. Jepsen’s delivery was distinctive from her start, but the earnestness — the near-giddiness — that emanates from her every syllable here is a demonstration of just how well she’s honed her voice since then. She sounds like the sun feels on the first day of summer, and she’s more than enough to make up for any production deficiencies. What do you call an imperial phase completely lacking in commercial success?
[7]