By: James Southworth
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
I'll be the first to admit that I am not one of those that viewed Meghan Trainor as anything unique. Her throwback to the doo-wop style of the 70's was more annoying than it was charming, and it was just contributing to an already large trend of pop music that was feeding on nostalgia. Plus, her lyrics and "feminist" stand were questionable. I felt she really showed the worst side of radical feminism, the one that said females were the dominant species and males were to be despised and shunned. "All About that Bass" seemed an empowering song about body image on the surface, but underneath it was shaming skinny people and still showing the body as a sexual object. "Dear Future Husband" is just a list of demands given by Trainor for what she wants in a husband which is just too picturesque and felt selfish and scathing. So I haven't really liked her that much, and I was saddened but not surprised when she won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
It seems the title of this new album, "Thank You", is directed at the fans who led Trainor to stardom. So, in order to please her fans further in her throwback style, Trainor has adapted a more 90's flare on this album which is reminiscent of early Madonna or Britney Spears. How does this direction work for her? Well, let me start with the positives. I went into this album as open-minded as possible, and because of that, I actually surprised myself with finding some decent songs. Though both of their lyrics are a bit too individualistic for my taste, "I Love Me" and "Better" still both have a certain swagger to them that can't be denied. The beats backing them are pretty catchy, and Meghan's voice sounds really good. On the other hand, I could actually get behind the lyrics on "I Won't Let You Down", where Trainor sounds at her most sincere. She's not trying to make a heavy-handed statement or appeal too much to a certain demographic, she's just being herself. More than that, she's actually admitting that she was the one in the wrong, where a lot of times in her many relationship-centric songs the blame is put on the man: "Cause I made mistakes/Probably more than I can count/So from this day on, I won't let you down". Even though that final statement is pretty bold, it's at least a nice goal to go after. "Dance Like Yo Daddy" sees Trainor actually trying to have some fun with her voice and the beat accompanying her. No man need be mentioned in this song (unlike almost every other one on here), which makes it the best song on the album just because it isn't relationship-centric like so many pop songs are. It also has a comedic vibe to it that worked well in its execution. The ending track, "Champagne Problems", is pretty interesting as it is more of a dance track. The music in it is intriguing and Meghan's voice works pretty well with it. I could see myself liking her music more if she did more stuff like this.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't fair quite so well. "Watch Me Do" is perhaps the worst song both musically and lyrically. Musically, Meghan's voice has that obnoxious rap-sing quality which makes her sound so annoying, and the beat is all over the place; the song never finds a real sense of direction. The lyrics also see Meghan praising herself, and it comes across as arrogant rather than empowering, with insipid lyrics like "I ain't saying I'm the besteses/But I got nice curves, nice breasteses/I don't erase the textes from my exeses/All in my DMs, leaving messages". It's lyrics like these that make me wonder why these songs are the ones that get popular- they're so childish and immature. Speaking of immaturity, "NO" comes in a close second place as the worst song on this album. The beat here is a little more clear, but it drones on and on. While it's nice the lyrics are trying to empower women in denying men that can't get a hint, once again the delivery by Meghan is just overbearing (and might I mention, the music video pretty much contradicts the message given here with its sexual overtones). "Me Too" has Meghan using God to idolize herself ("I thank God every day/That I wake up feeling this way... If I was you, I'd want to be me too"). I feel like I'm repeating myself, but this song, much like "Watch Me Do", is hyper individualistic.
Remember how I said a lot of this album is pretty contradictory? Well, these slew of other songs prove this statement, as they are all about Trainor looking for a relationship. But wait, didn't so many of her other songs establish she DIDN'T need a man? I think I could've respected this album more if Meghan had gone all the way in her message, but she only did it half way. The problem with these songs is not that they're overbearing, rather they're just incredibly underwhelming, boring, and generic pop. "Hopeless Romantic" is pretty cliched in all facets: its title, musicality, and lyrics. I gained nothing from it; it's easily the most forgettable song on the album. "Kindly Calm Me Down" is nothing to write home about either, and "Just a Friend to You" has some super cheesy lyrics. All these songs are more of the ballad-type, and none of them stuck out. Meghan sounds passionless and processed here.
Though this review sounds more negative than positive, I would argue that I was pretty generous in this review given my previous disdain with Trainor and with the pop industry in general (the industry is probably a big result of a lot of Trainor's content on here, given there were multiple writers and producers). I was happy to find some actual good content on here, particularly in "I Won't Let You Down", "Dance Like Yo Daddy", and "Champagne Problems". However those moments are overtaken by some of Meghan's more extreme feminism (which dangerously verges and sometimes trespasses on idolatry) and some unmemorable content. I'm hoping in the future, Meghan's evidence of talent can emerge, but for now, she still is not very appealing to me and feels like just another voice lost in the masses of other solo pop artists.
Favorite Songs: "Dance Like Yo Daddy", "I Won't Let You Down", "Champagne Problems"
Least Favorite Songs: "Watch Me Do", "NO", "I Love Me", "Me Too" "Kindly Calm Me Down", "Hopeless Romantic"
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