BROOKE THAMES
A&C Editor
thamesbe@plu.edu
Former wizard and spring breaker Selena Gomez recently took to the New York Times to complain about how she isnāt respected as a real musical artist. While the on-and-off actressā new album is titled āRevival,ā it does next to nothing to revive Gomezās already non-existent singing career.
āRevivalā dropped Friday Oct. 9 and consists of 11 tracks (14 on the deluxe). Despite presenting over a dozen songs, the greatest thing about the album is quite possibly the cover – which is plain to say the least.
āRevivalā kicks off with the title track and seals the doomed fate of the entire record in the first five seconds. Instead of opening the album with a punchy pop beat, Gomezās speaking voice (which might be better than her singing one) rambles some extremely needless words about being āblindedā and āreborn.ā
āRevivalā as a song isnāt bad, but the awkward, unnecessary monologue in the beginning definitely sets the melancholy andĀ over-dramatic tone of the album.
Most of the subsequent tracks are just a long list of basic pop songs that fail at hitting the ātrendyā mark that Gomez was obviously going for. Over-synthesized beats and oddly-pitched background vocals are just some of the follies that plague tracks like āKill Em With Kindness,ā āSoberā and āSurvivors.ā
Songs that arenāt painfully bland are just a bit over-the-top. Reminiscent of āCome & Get It,ā āBody Heatā tries far too hard to sound cultural. Equipped with a confusing beat and distracting saxophone, the song feels misplaced among the other tracks.
Similarly, Gomezās single āGood For Youā lacks a steady musical flow and fails to hit the ātrendy popā mark previously mentioned. Perhaps Gomez should focus less on looking good for us and focus more on sounding good for us instead.
While āRevivalā is not a great album, it does have its gems. Single āSame Old Loveā is strange, but in a really interesting and almost genius way. The mechanical sound of the piano riff keeps the song consistent and simple, while Gomezās vocals present ancreative melody. The deep voice that appears during the breakdown also presents an excellent example of autotuning done right.
The third track, āHands To Myself,ā showcases an excellent beat which is both fun and unique. Gomezās crazily unspectacular singing voice is masked as she whispers majority of the song, which complements her non-existent vocal range.
And while āRevivalā may not begin on a strong note (or a note at all), it definitely ends with something better. āRiseā closes out the album with an excellent chorus that verges on anthem-like. āRiseā is earthy and and full, but unfortunately lacks the layering to be as robust as it could be to finish the album with a bang.
While Gomezās first adult album is not a terrible record, itās definitely not album of the year. She may have named the record āRevival,ā but Gomez is going to need to revive a lot more if she wants to be taken seriously in the music industry.