Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated

Usurping the title of 'queen of the gays' back in 2015 was most likely going to be a feat accomplished by either Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus, but instead it was the girl who irritated us in 2012 with Call Me Maybe. That year's E•MO•TION was the sort of pop masterclass that is usually left to the Swedes, and spawned a stream of overzealous adulation from pockets of the LGBT community, along with a string of memes tied to the saxophone hook from the monster single 'Run Away With Me'. Since 2015, though, Jepsen has managed thus far to follow it all up with material of equal strength: 2017 saw the release of the single Cut to the Feeling, a song so immediately brilliant that it was thrown on the season of RuPaul's Drag Race currently being filmed despite neither of the drag queens forced to battle over it knowing its lyrics. Just last year, she performed the ultimate service of featuring a group of fans in the music video for Party for One, a joyous anthem celebrating what it means to fall in love with yourself.

The problem stood, then, that having one great album wasn't going to be enough to endure into the next decade. There may have been a "Side B" to her previous record, and it was indeed rammed with tracks of equal strength that could've easily slotted into the album proper, but ditching the EMOTION era fully and releasing her fourth standalone LP was always going to be a challenge when her previous two efforts enjoyed the highs of both commercial and then critical success.

Early glimpses were promising: I've already mentioned the first taste of Dedicated - 'Party for One' - and whilst it's left until the end of the record it still packs a hell of a punch and bounces around charismatically enough to satisfy the most weary of sweet teeth. The other singles are loaded at the top of the album; 'Now That I Found You' has been affixed to the breezy, life-affirming and saccharine Netflix show Queer Eye as its theme tune to its most recent season and it's a canny choice, full of breathless optimism and outpouring love. The melody itself is a little more straightforward and obvious than her other singles but the catch is still immediate, allowing a fun ride. But it's the other tracks that grab interest: 'Julien' is a funk-driven track teetering on wobbly synths that Giorgio Moroder and Nile Rodgers would be extremely proud of, while 'No Drug Like Me' is a rich, autotuned sleaze-fest that writhes with promises to "blossom for you" and "make me open up".

It's just... somewhere around the middle, things drop off and tracks begin to blend into one. The likes of 'Want You In My Room', 'I'll Be Your Girl' and 'Automatically in Love' are tracks that fill a hole pleasantly enough but are just further continuations of this theme of devotion and sex that don't explore anything else and certainly don't carry hooks strong enough to endure. Worse still: 'Everything He Needs' is an 80s sample of a song for the 1980 film adaptation of Popeye (no, me neither) that just reeks of complacency and a chorus that I can feel draining my attention span. There's later an attempt at Julia Michaels-inspired finger clicking minimalism on 'Right Words Wrong Time' and whilst it would indeed stand up well compared to the likes of Issues, it's also a sound that just doesn't really mesh well with Jepsen's style.

What is Jepsen's style, you ask? Why, majestic 80s funk-pop with a masterful production, of course, and thankfully that does reemerge throughout Dedicated - 'Happy Not Knowing' is a celebration of self that combines well with Party for One and is layered with plenty of individual pieces that capture the heartstrings. Each handclap and funk guitar riff in the background builds into something truly enjoyable. On 'Too Much', she's doubtful and hesitant, but the second-guessing lyrics and overthinking of relationships blend well with this reeling, rolling electronic background and it's incredibly catchy. The funk returns later on 'Feels Right' with Electric Guest, and the variation in vocals here is a welcome surprise - really pushing Jepsen's comfortable hush into new territory. The slow build of 'Real Love' is intensely gratifying, too, and the deluxe edition also includes 'For Sure', which is the second best track of all time with that title (after Scooch, of course).

 There's nothing here that's really offensively bad, despite my inclusion of an "avoid" category, but those expecting a record of similar strength to EMOTION will most likely find some form of disappointment. For me, it's negligible and there are more than enough singles here to tide me over until the next hit of adrenaline. Carly Rae Jepsen is still one of the most reliable forces in pop music.

Rating: 7.5/10
Highlights: Party for One, Julien, Happy Not Knowing, Now That I Found You, Feels Right, Too Much
Avoid: Everything He Needs

Artwork Watch: Always embarrassing when you've forgotten to show up for an important event without your top on
For fans of: EVER SO SLIGHTLY diminishing returns

Coming next: The Japanese House