1. To the Moon
My rating: 2/5 Mediocre
*sighs* I actually had high hopes that we could get three "first track is one of my favorites" in a row. But we're back to less good songs being the first track. This isn't bad or anything, but it's just definitely not my favorite. I normally like the more jazzy production on Meghan songs, but this one just kinda sounds like... circus music? And I'm not a fan of the key it's in. I don't really understand the intention of putting a random song like this in a minor key? And the lyrics are okay I guess, but they're just classic Meghan lyrics about how she's the girl of your dreams and she'll take you to the moon and such. Alright, moving on.
2. Been Like This (featuring T-Pain)
My rating: 5/5 Great
Yeah, I've reviewed this on my blog before, because it was on Hits 1 (and should have been a much bigger hit), but I'll say it again: we need more songs that sound like THIS. Sure, the lyrics are kinda ridiculous, but that's the whole point of this song. But obviously the part I love about it is that really cool jazzy production stuff going on here, and I love how well the key fits with it. Overall, great music from Meghan.
3. Crowded Room
My rating: 3/5 Decent
Alright, I have very conflicting feelings about this one. I like the lyrical concept of talking to Cupid and then finding someone you fall in love with, but like... the lyrics aren't exactly the most especially interesting thing here. And musically, it sounds somewhat like Made You Puke, but I always get confused halfway through this one for some reason. So yeah, this song is okay I guess, but... not the best thing ever.
4. Whoops
My rating: 5/5 Great
Ok, here's another one I've reviewed before on my blog. It's still currently on the Hits 1 countdown, but not performing super well yet, but I hope it does because I really like this song. This is one of the more genre-blending songs on the album, because it obviously has a more modern-style pop-type beat throughout, but the melody and some production elements are still reminiscent of the older styles of music that Meghan commonly writes in. I really like songs like that, and this one does it quite well.
5. Crushin' (featuring Lawrence)
My rating: 5/5 Great
The first odd-number track that I actually really like. I think the production here is a lot cooler-sounding than some of the other previous songs, and I like the key it's in. The Lawrence people actually sound pretty good here. Lyrically, it's literally every theme that Meghan is always singing about in her songs, but in a creative way that I kinda like. Instead of just simply saying that she's the best and she's pretty and sexy and hot and etc, she admits to having a "crush" on herself... interesting?
6. I Wanna Thank Me (featuring Niecy Nash)
My rating: 4/5 Good
Well, this album sure does have a lot of featured artists on it, but this time, the featured artist doesn't really do anything. The only lines that Niecy contributes to the song are a speech at the beginning, and a few bits of that speech that randomly play in the background during the song sometimes. Now as for the song itself, it's good, but the lyrics are kinda... again, just basically a bunch of lyrics that are commonly associated with what Meghan is always singing about in her songs, about how she is everything she needs and she's the greatest person alive or whatever. Okay...?
7. Love on Hold (featuring T-Pain)
My rating: 5/5 Great
Well, that's one way to avoid using that same chord progression (I-vi-IV-V, if you know music stuff) yet again... just make everything one chord. In all seriousness though, this is pretty good. It's actually got some interesting form of evolution to keep things interesting even though it otherwise doesn't do much. The lyrics are pretty good too, and I think Meghan and T-Pain actually sound better together here than on their last collab on Been Like This. Pretty cool stuff.
8. Forget How to Love
My rating: 5/5 Great
Alright, this one's also pretty good. I love the production and the evolution here. It starts slower but picks up later on as the song progresses, and it all sounds pretty cool. The lyrical concept is actually kinda more interesting here also. It's one of the more "serious" songs on here, about a breakup. I really like the line "Just because you're drowning in your pain, it doesn't mean I gotta feel the same". I think this song is actually pretty relatable. Might actually be my favorite on the album.
9. Rollin'
My rating: 3/5 Decent
This one's alright. I guess it's another breakup song? But the lyrics aren't as good as Forget How to Love, it's a bit too repetitive for my liking and seems a bit blander. Production-wise, it's also less interesting. Once again, it's repetitive and somewhat empty here. I don't have much to say about this one, it's just kind of a mid song with not much to it, but it's not necessarily bad at all.
10. I Don't Do Maybe
My rating: 4/5 Good
Alright, more breakup songs on here than I expected. I guess it's intentional that most of the more classic Meghan Trainor "I'm the best" songs were put at the beginning of the album. This is another one that I don't really love, but it's not bad. The lyrics are better than Rollin', but the main thing keeping it from being green is the production. It doesn't really do anything, and I'm not a fan of that key it's in. Okay, hopefully there's some more interesting songs coming up...
11. I Get It
My rating: 5/5 Great
Yeah, I knew at some point we'd get to a song that's an instant favorite. I changed my mind about FHTL. This is definitely my favorite on the album. The lyrics are obviously very simple and repetitive, but I think here it actually works well and is effective for this song. It's actually a love song, and I like the straightforwardness of the lyrics. I think it works better here than in most other songs. And musically, it's obviously a favorite. It's another song that kind of blends genres. It's got the jazz elements Meghan is known for, the modern pop elements that are frequently noticeable in her music also, and even a bit of a more disco kind of style. I love the way it sounds, and yes, I think the key change in the post-chorus fits in with the song very well. Shockingly amazing song here.
12. Sleeping On Me
My rating: 5/5 Great
So this is the last song that I knew before. It was never on the countdown or Hitbound, but when Timeless released, Hits 1 would sometimes play random songs from the album, and other than the three songs from this album that were on the countdown or HB. this is the only one that I heard when they were doing that. And it's a great song. Obviously it's in my favorite key of A Major, and while the production isn't all that different from other Meghan stuff, the key fits better with it here. And I like the lyrics. From the title, I thought it would be a sexual song of some sort, but it's actually about people who have doubted her and telling them to "wake up". Interesting song.
13. Hate It Here
My rating: 3/5 Decent
For some reason, I feel like it might have been intentional that track 13 on this album shares a title with a Taylor Swift song. And ironically, this is the sexual song, and it comes directly after a completely unrelated song called "Sleeping on Me". I'm not a huge fan of these lyrics, and musically, it's still a bit boring, but it's alright I guess. Once again, I don't really have anything else interesting to say about this one, it's just another mid song that I'm fairly indifferent about.
14. Bestie
My rating: 4/5 Good
So, this one... I'm conflicted again. I like the production here a lot. I think it sounds really cool and has quite a bit of evolution, and like I Get It, it blends multiple genres together. But lyrically, I don't love it. It's yet another "I'm the only person who's important to me" song from Meghan, it's very repetitive and it doesn't work super well here which makes it seem like a throwaway for one of the longest songs on the album, and it does have a predictable "head/bed" rhyme in the first verse. So, it's got some less good qualities, but a lot of redeeming qualities to it as well. So, another song that's kinda mid but alright.
15. Doin' It All for You
My rating: 4/5 Good
Alright, we're almost to the end of the album, and this is... yet another song that has strong musical qualities, but is lyrically really weak. I like the genre-blending production here, and the key change is done well here, but I guess it's not as good as some of the other more interesting songs on here. Lyrically, it's very repetitive and generic. Once again, not much to say here. This is just another song that exists.
16. Timeless
My rating: 5/5 Great
And we've reached the album closer, and it actually finishes on one of my personal favorites. I think this is actually my favorite song on the album, basically tied with I Get It. But they're great in different ways. This one is musically really cool, starting slow and minimalistic, but evolving as it goes along. I also love both of the keys it's in (I feel like the key change at the end works well for an album closer). And lyrically, it's a great concept. It's basically another love song, this one is about how the love should last as long as they can make it, and also about a fear of losing time or love. The lyrics here are actually pretty simple but strongly written. Amazing way to finish the album.
Conclusion
Overall album rating: 83% (Good Album)
Okay, this album now has the lowest rating of any of the albums I've reviewed on this blog, but since it's still an okay rating I would classify it as "good". I don't know if I've ever specified this before, but my system for classifying whether an album counts as "good" or "great" is based mostly around intervals of 15, so if this album got two more points it would be considered "great". Well, since this album got a slightly lower score, I guess that means now you know that the reason all my albums get high scores is because I'm choosing to review mostly great albums, not just throwing out good scores to every single thing I hear... or maybe you didn't think that? I don't know, reviewing an album that's not an "absolutely incredible masterpiece" every once in a while can be kinda good ig.
Favorite songs: I Get It, Timeless
Least favorite songs: To the Moon
(I actually forgot that bit on my TSOU review, but I just updated it)
That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!
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