Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Rejoice, friends, for Friday is a glorious day indeed. Carly Rae Jepsen has blessed us all with eight new songs, and they are divine because she is a beautiful, regal Queen of Pop.
You might only know Jepsen from her monster hit, "Call Me Maybe," which took over the world in 2012. Fair enough, because that song slays, but the 30-year-old singer released one of the best and most deft pop albums of last year with "E MO TION."
The album, which came out a little over a year ago, opens with a thunderous saxophone wail during the leadoff track, "Run Away With Me," a song which transcended mere music and became a meme. It was a critical darling, but wasn't a massive commercial hit because we do not live in a just and fair world.
Even though we, the ungrateful public, did not propel Jepsen to the commercial success she so rightly deserves, she was still kind enough to grace us with a collection of B-sides to commemorate the LPs one-year anniversary.
E MO TION Side B ?? @Spotifyhttps://t.co/glVnIlLene
- Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) August 26, 2016
A B-sides release can vary wildly in quality. Sometimes they're just a paltry handful of tracks that didn't make the final album cut for an obvious reason, and other times they're almost worthy of being a standalone album. That's the case with "E MO TION Side B."
Jepsen said in interviews that she wrote about 200 songs while working on "E MO TION," but only 12 made the final album cut. The eight tracks that made it onto "Side B" aren't of lesser quality than the songs on the original - they're just different, and more unabashedly upbeat.
A lot of the tracks on "E MO TION," are, well, E MO TION AL. Even at their most vibrant and exuberant, Jepsen's '80s synths have a mellowness and gentle pathos to them. They're the score to a life-changing night. The B-sides, meanwhile, are the score to a kickass day.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Two of the songs, "First Time" and "Fever," were technically already released as exclusives in Japan, but they're new to the States, and the other six songs are totally fresh. With the exception of "Cry," which gets a touch more somber, the tracks are all retro-neu bangers.
"Store" is a contender for having the greatest chorus of all time. When Jepsen sings "I'm just goin' to the store," it's so bright, bubblegummy, and even children's book simple, that you can't help but have a massive smile on your face. Then you listen to the lyrics closer and gleam that she's actually ending a relationship by lying about running errands and essentially saying "deuces" with no remorse. It's amazing.
The whole thing is streaming on Spotify, and you really owe it to yourself to make the most out of Friday by listening to "E MO TION Side B" on repeat with the volume maxed out.
Carly would want it that way.