Ariana Grande - Sweetener (Review):
Raindrops - A beautiful acoustic opening to the album with this short cover of a track titled ‘An Angel Cried’. There is nothing more than her showcasing her stunning voice. It takes me back to the dreamy and magical intro of her second studio album ‘My Everything’.
Blazed (Ft. Pharrell Williams) - This groovy track is one that will surely get your body moving and would work really well in a dim lit club. The production on her vocals on this track is the standout moment on the track. On this track Pharrell’s production is actually tolerable.
The Light Is Coming (Ft. Nicki Minaj) - On the first listen this track was a huge disappointment. Seeing as ‘Side To Side’ & ‘Get On Your Knees’ were two great collaborations between Ariana and Nicki Minaj, so the expectations for this and ‘Bed’ were quite high and were not met at all. The beat in the beginning hurts your ears and the unbearable sample of the reporter that is used throughout the track makes listening to the track even more painful. Pharrell may have tried to aim for something way too high above his capability when trying to be innovative with the production on this track, as it is an intolerable moment on the album, even Nicki’s verse fails to do anything significant to save the track.
R.E.M. - This mellow track has quite the interesting production. It has a chilled vibe with her laid back vocals. The production isn’t overbearing and the odd breathing sounds in the background really make the production on this track standout. This maybe Pharrell’s most redeemable moment on the album so far. The final minute of this track is beautiful with the vocal layering and provides us with one of the most dreamiest moments on the album. One thing though the beat seems to be a different interpretation to that of Tinashe’s album cut ‘Ooh La La’. Up to this moment this track provides the album with its first strong moment after the intro.
God Is A Woman - I have done a post on this track before (do check it out for a thorough discussion on this track and what I feel in relation to it). The track is a stunning track and the showcase of her vocals here is magnificent. The choir like moment during the end really elevates the track to a different level.
Sweetener - This is a cute track that uses sweeteners being added to something bitter to make the taste change to something sweet as a metaphor for what the presence of the guy who she’s with does. It isn’t one of the strongest tracks on the album and it doesn’t bring much to the table. It feels like a filler track, on top of that the production does get a little annoying with the constant noises Pharrell is making in the background. The noises don’t add anything interesting to the track, if they were eliminated the track would be a little more bearable. Pharrell so far seems to have a similar pattern in which his two key bullet points are: one a groovy beat and secondly odd breathing noises in the background.
Successful - A quirky opening to the track that makes the track sound like an opening theme to a children’s TV show. In an odd way its dated sound feels like it could have fitted well on her debut album ‘Yours Truly’. It lyrically revolves around her boasting about how she is so successful. Certain instrumentation moments give you a tropical vibe. Another filler on the album in which it seems like Pharrell just wasn’t that bothered during the creative process. It is a track that you wouldn’t seek out, however if you are listening to the album as a whole then you’d sit through it. The breathing noises that both she and Pharrell are making in the background aren’t even in sync with each other giving the beat a very cluttered feel.
Everytime - The moment this track starts makes you scream ‘FINALLY’, as we finally get the moment we all wanted an iconic track from Ariana Grande and it seems that eliminating Pharrell Williams from the the equation is all it took to make that happen. This track draws you in from the get go. One of the standout moments on the track, God maybe drawing Ariana back to the guy of topic, however ‘Everytime’ is what keeps me coming back for more. The ‘Back to you, back to you’ moment on the track kind of reminds me of Mollie King’s track ‘Back To You’. The chilled vibe of the track and her vocals on this track are really captivating. The song is about always being drawn back to the same person. It also feels like a track that would sound perfect being played during a night drive. I kind of feel like the transition from the intro to the next track would have worked better if this was placed right after the intro rather than ‘Blazed’.
Breathin - Again just like the previous track the opening immediately captivates you. Ariana stated that the song is about her having anxiety. The chorus lets you know that in a moment of anxiety, try not to forget to breathe. She is singing about feeling anxious, however the track has an upbeat vibe which is an unexpected combination that works really well here. The moment near the end where the beat stops and she sings ‘Just keep breathing and breathing…’ and then takes a breathe after which the beat kicks in again is a standout moment that depicts the meaning behind the lyrics in a literal way. Another one of the standout tracks on the album. This track and ‘Everytime’ being one after the other make for a great combination.
No Tears Left To Cry - The lead single which caught many of us by surprise. The opening gives you a totally different vibe and once we get into the first verse it takes a whole different vibe. The track is a decent track that grows on you more and more with every listen. Although for me the verses didn’t do much and it was the chorus that was the drawing moment on the track.
Boarderline (Ft. Missy Elliot) - An upbeat track that will surely be a hit in the clubs as it gets you in the mood to dance. Again Pharrell gives the production of the song his typical groovy feel. It kind of has a Justin Timberlake feel to it, through the production on the vocals and beat. Missy Elliot doesn’t really provide with a long enough verse for her moment on the track to be truly classified as a feature, however what she does offer works well with the feel of the track. Giving you that being in space and talking through the radios that you use to communicate with the team back at the space station feel.
Better Off - A mesmerising track in which her vocals are beautifully restrained, she lets the listeners know that she can still deliver a great track without doing all the runs and big vocal moments. Here she is singing about being better off without the guy of topic. This track is so dreamy that you seem to get lost in it. A highlight on the album.
Goodnight N Go - She keeps hold of the dreamy vibe continuing on from the previous track, and her vocals are so beautiful on this track. The structure of the track is on point with the slow build to the sudden beat drop. The track samples Imogen Heaps track of the same name. This track will surely provide with a magical moment on tour when performed live.
Pete Davidson - This short track serves as a dedication to her fiancé of the same name. She sings about what being with him feels like and he seems to have made her very happy. I feel like she could have this play during the final credits of her wedding video. The track does provide us with a beautiful moment.
Get Well Soon - Now this track is said to be about the tragic event that took place during her concert in Manchester. The track is a stunning one and this is where Pharrell finally gets it right (his approach to how he went about the production on this album is like a student who doesn’t bother revising for his exams until the day before the exam, and that is when they put in the most effort). Her restrained vocals work really well here and allow the full focus to be on the lyrics of the track. The track also is about her suffering with anxiety and how it got even worse after what happened during her concert and she even stated that getting her feelings out through her music has helped her healing process. The track timing of five minutes and twenty-two seconds serves to honour those that suffered during that dark moment as the date of the show was 22nd May. I kind of feel that this track could have worked better if it was track 14 and the track Pete Davidson was the closing moment of the album. As it would have provided the album with a full circle moment of feeling down and ending on a note at which she is now out of that dark place and finally happy.
Overall the album isn’t her strongest body of work, Pharrell’s production on the album for most part of it lets the album down. I do give Ariana props for experimenting with the production on this album even if it didn’t work out as well. However the album does have a bunch of standout moments that prove that she is capable of creating tracks that are phenomenal.
