She says that herself. “Magical and real like Murakami,” she boasts over the smothered piano glow of “Chanel No. 5,” nodding to the magical realism of Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami — which is a good thing to hear after Florida led the country in attempting book bans in 2023. For an even more organized declaration of neo-me, head straight to the song’s chorus, where Cabello uses her digitized huskiness to position herself as a “cute girl with a sick mind.” She’s telegraphing her makeover here, but at least she keeps it sleek and snappy. The rest of Cabello’s big mutation is in the music itself, which—with help from producers El Guincho and Jasper Harris—does all kinds of sci-fi tricks with its elegant timbres, exploded forms, and bittersweet mood.
On the subtler side of that spectrum, there’s “BOAT,” a mournful piano ballad dedicated to “the greatest of all time.” When Cabello’s heartbroken chorus liquefies into rainbow streams of synth melody, she’s showing us that a slow song doesn’t have to be cheesy to be sentimental. It almost looks like a decades-old replica of Disney. Then, on the flip side, there’s “Dade County Dreaming,” a collaboration with the recently defunct Miami rap duo City Girls, on which Cabello brags on the edge of her breath, whispering self-aggrandizements in her loneliest voice. This looks like a replica of Drake many years ago.
Oh no, we summoned him. For some reason, the despondent rapper appears on two consecutive cuts at the center of this album, “Hot Uptown” and “Uuugly,” wandering around in his poser dialect while Cabello sings arabesques around him, delivering his melodies with a vitality that will get you remember that time Drake ruined Rihanna’s “Work.” As for the album’s other misstep, it’s an unforced error at the end titled “June Gloom,” a song about a particular kind of summer blues that allows Cabello to waste three life-erasing minutes wishing she was Lana Del Rey.
At least that admiration seemed mutual at Coachella in April, when Del Rey invited Cabello on stage during her set to perform “I Luv It,” the most euphoric song on “C,XOXO” and a favorite for the most pop single. vivid of the year. Have you heard this? First, a synth line sways like hurricane floodwater slamming against a sliding patio door. Before long, Cabello gets stuck into the titular chorus like a nervous tic. Then, the cherub choir of Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade” floats down from the sky in the form of a sample. Then, Playboi Carti steps out of a parallel dimension and into his guest verse. At this point, Cabello’s new thesis is almost written in heaven: we will know true pleasure by how strange it seems.
Do you ever hear a pop singer rebranding herself? At the very least, imagine a postcard from Florida carrying an ecstatic message of survival, written in teal ink, the lyrics going limp as if they were melting in the apocalyptic sun of 2024: I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!
