Emotion: Side B

Emotion: Side B
EP by Carly Rae Jepsen
Released August 26, 2016 (2016-08-26)
Genre Pop[1]
Length 27:38
Label 604
Producer
Carly Rae Jepsen chronology
Emotion Remixed +
(2016)		 Emotion: Side B
(2016)
Singles from Emotion: Side B+
  1. "Cut to the Feeling"
    Released: May 26, 2017

Emotion: Side B (stylized as E•MO•TION: Side B) is the second extended play (EP) by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on August 26, 2016 by 604 Records in Canada and School Boy Records and Interscope Records in the United States. Due to fan demand, Jepsen developed Side B as a companion piece to her third studio album Emotion (2015), featuring unreleased songs that were cut from the original effort. A Japan-exclusive reissue of the EP, entitled Cut to the Feeling: Emotion Side B+, was released on September 13, 2017, supplemented with "Cut to the Feeling" from the Canadian-French film Ballerina (2016).

Like its parent album, Side B takes heavy influence from 1980s pop music, with narratives that revolve around love and heartbreak. The EP received favorable reviews upon its release, and was placed on several critics' lists for best of the year.

Background and development

Jepsen during Gimmie Love Tour in San Francisco on February 27, 2016

Jepsen worked on her third studio album, Emotion (2015), for nearly three years, writing over 250 songs in the process. From its inception in Los Angeles, Jepsen began to stray away from "mass-produced" writing sessions where she was unable to contribute in a significant way.[2] Her brief stint as Cinderella on Broadway spurred a decision to contact musicians she admired, signaling a desire for experimentation. Of the collaborators that appeared on Emotion, Greg Kurstin, Dev Hynes, and Rami Yacoub, among others, would reprise their role on Side B.[3] After completing the title track "Emotion", the songs Jepsen developed thereafter became "essentials" that could anchor the album as opposed to throwaway material. When time came to sequencing Emotion, Jepsen's label gave her a hard limit of 17 tracks to work with:[2]

"The metamorphosis of the tracklists I’ve made for Emotion have probably changed six times. I have a little easel board with it painted on and I’d come home from a session and then I’d write down a song I liked better than having to decide which song to take out. I had to rebuild it and give it a facelift almost every week."[4]

Emotion was eventually released in June 2015, to underwhelming commercial success despite positive reviews from music critics. The album developed a cult following and Jepsen grew to become a "critical" or "indie darling".[5][6] She embarked on the Gimmie Love Tour in support of the album in late 2015, which she recounts as a gratifying experience and prompted the EP's development when fans asked of leftover material.[7] Speaking to radio station WMSC in March 2016, Jepsen expressed a desire to release these songs, stating that she had been contemplating an Emotion 2.0-type release.[8] Featuring two new songs, Emotion Remixed + was exclusively released in Japan on March 2, 2016, marking the first appearance of "First Time" and "Fever"; she began performing these tracks on the second US leg of her tour.[9]

Composition

The EP opens with a distorted cassette-recording of the chorus to "First Time",[1] co-written with the same ensemble behind Jepsen's "Your Type". A synth-funk song,[10] its bubblegum instrumental contrasts with Jepsen's pleas to rekindle a relationship,[11] channeling the "breeziness" of The Jets' "Crush on You".[12] In "Higher", Jepsen contextualizes a burgeoning relationship with her past, which Brad Nelson of Pitchfork notes as "the most transparent "love" song" from her Emotion offerings. "Higher" is built upon "fizzy" synths and New Wave drums.[13] Nelson describes its production as invoking "the crisp, fussed architecture of a Scritti Politti song",[1] whereas Esther Zuckerman of The A.V. Club likens it to a Robyn outtake.[14]

"The One" is described as "bouncy synthwave-lite",[11] where Jepsen sings about avoiding commitment.[15] "Fever" is placed in the "weird and unstable space just before a breakup", where Jepsen confesses to stealing her boyfriend's bike, riding it to his empty house.[1] Nelson notes that the song is "vacuumed into the throb of a bass drum", alluding to the absence of Jepsen's romantic interest. Entertainment Weekly's Jessica Goodman highlighted "Fever" as standout track, calling it a "devastating karaoke sing-along".[16] "Body Language" is accentuated with 808 drum kicks and handclaps.[16] "Cry" is a mid-tempo ballad sung about an emotionally unavailable boyfriend, recalling the italo disco genre.[17] The song utilizes a synth bass that is "just muted enough to invert its usual effect, generating a feeling of weightlessness".[1]

In 2011, Jepsen participated in an anti-smoking campaign for her home province of British Columbia's Healthy Living Alliance coalition known as "Quitters Unite", which featured an unreleased composition that was reworked into "Store".[18][12] Several critics have noted its "bizarre" nature as a "misleadingly chipper"[19] song about walking out on a relationship,[20] its carefully sung verses juxtaposed with a "violent waking" of a chorus.[1] Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone describes it as a danceable Dear John letter,[13] while New Statesman's Anna Leszkiewicz calls it a "satire of deadbeat dad tropes".[21]

Release

Jepsen wished Emotion a "happy [anniversary]" on August 21, 2016, via social media; announcing that she had a "present" in the works.[22] She unveiled the EP's cover artwork in the same post.[23][24] For the week leading up to its release, Jepsen posted a different song teaser each day across several social media platforms.[25] The track listing was revealed on August 24, 2016, through retailer 7digital Canada.[26] A personal note from Jepsen accompanied Side B's release on August 26, 2016, expressing her gratitude and wishing to reciprocate her fans' support.[27]

Side B received a limited physical release on September 9, 2016, with autographed copies,[28] and it arrived on vinyl on December 16, 2016.[29] Though no singles were issued to promote the EP directly, "First Time" was previously released as a promotional single for Emotion Remixed +.[30] Japan is set to receive an exclusive reissue of the EP on September 13, 2017, featuring the only appearance of "Cut to the Feeling" on physical CD.[31]

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80, based on 6 reviews, indicating "general favorable reviews".[32]

Accolades

Publication Year Accolade Rank Ref.
Idolator 2016 The 10 Best EPs & Mixtapes of 2016
1
MuuMuse Top 20 Albums of 2016
5
EdgeMediaNetwork The 10 Best Albums of 2016
5
Rolling Stone 20 Best Pop Albums of 2016
6
 [13]
Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of 2016
43
The Skinny Top 50 Albums of 2016
49
Stereogum 25 Great EPs from 2016 N/A
The A.V. Club Albums of the Year N/A
Pitchfork The 20 Best Pop and R&B Albums of 2016 N/A
Teen Vogue 15 Best Albums of 2016 N/A
Entertainment Weekly The 100 Songs of 2016 – "Body Language"
31
Spin The 101 Songs of 2016 – "Fever"
74
The Fader The 100 Songs of 2016 – "Store"
87

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 55 in Jepsen's home country of Canada,[45] and number 74 in Australia.[46] In the United States, the album debuted at number 62 on the US Billboard 200,[47] earning 9,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with just over 7,000 coming from pure sales.[48] It also debuted at number 26 the same week on the Top Album Sales chart.[49]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."First Time"
3:35
2."Higher"
Kurstin3:54
3."The One"
  • Jepsen
  • Kyle Shearer
  • Nate Campany
Shearer3:23
4."Fever"
  • Jepsen
  • Shearer
  • Campany
  • Saul Alexander Castillo Vasquez
Shearer3:05
5."Body Language"
TMS2:53
6."Cry"
  • Jepsen
  • Nick Ruth
  • Crowe
Ruth3:56
7."Store"
  • CJ Baran
  • Romans
3:12
8."Roses"
  • Shearer
  • Stewart
3:40
Total length:27:38

Personnel

  • Carly Rae Jepsen – vocals
  • Mitch McCarthy – mixing (tracks 3–8)
  • Gene Grimaldi – mastering

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] 74
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[45] 55
Irish Albums (IRMA)[51] 89
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[52] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[53] 182
US Billboard 200[47] 62
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[49] 26

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
United States August 26, 2016 Digital download
[54]
United States September 9, 2016 CD [55]
Canada March 3, 2017 LP 604 [56]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nelson, Brad (September 8, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen: E•MO•TION Side B Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Gevinson, Tavi (October 16, 2015). "The Next Adventure: An Interview With Carly Rae Jepsen". Rookie. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Eliza (August 26, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen Just Blessed the World With 8 New Songs". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  4. ↑ Lindsay, Cam (August 7, 2015). "Stall Me Maybe: How Carly Rae Jepsen's New Album Took Time". Vice. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (August 21, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen announces E•MO•TION: Side B". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ Zaleski, Annie (February 17, 2016). "On "Run Away With Me," Carly Rae Jepsen is the lead character of her own fairy tale". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  7. ↑ Johns, Gibson (December 2, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen reveals the direction she plans on taking with the follow-up to 'EMOTION'". AOL.com. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  8. ↑ Arevalo, Ivan (March 26, 2016). "E-MO-TION 2.0? – Carly Rae Jepsen Talks Possible New Album, Gimme Love Tour & More". WMSC. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  9. ↑ Donnelly, Eric (August 22, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen Releases "Higher" Snippet From 'EMOTION Side B'". 103.3 AMP Radio. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ Williott, Carl (March 18, 2016). "Hear Two Great New Carly Rae Jepsen Songs From 'E•MO•TION Remixed'". Idolator. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Emertus, Will (August 29, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion: Side B (album review )". Sputnik Music. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  12. 1 2 Lambert, Molly (August 31, 2016). "The Pure Pop Perfection Of Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion: Side B". MTV News. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 "20 Best Pop Albums of 2016". date. Rolling Stone. December 19, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  14. ↑ Zuckerman, Ester (December 5, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion: Side B is glorious, surprisingly deep pop". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  15. ↑ Phares, Heather. "E-MO-TION [Side B] – Carly Rae Jepsen | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Goodman, Jessica (August 26, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen's 'E·MO·TION Side B'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  17. ↑ Gibbs, Ryan (August 28, 2016). "Album Review: Carly Rae Jepsen - "Emotion Side B"". The Young Folks. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  18. ↑ Carly Rae Jepsen's Smokefree Lifestyle (YouTube video). BC Healthy Living Alliance. October 6, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  19. ↑ Stern, Bradley (December 6, 2016). "The Top 20 Albums of 2016". MuuMuse. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  20. ↑ Kornhaber, Spencer (September 3, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen, the Most Useful Pop Star". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  21. ↑ Leszkiewicz, Anna (September 2, 2016). "Side B: When cassette culture met Carly Rae Jepsen's brand of nostalgia". New Statesmen. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  22. ↑ Jepsen, Carly Rae (August 21, 2016). "Happy 1 year E•MO•TION! Your anniversary present is coming this Friday 8/26 pic.twitter.com/GXjYO9FsUS". @carlyraejepsen. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  23. ↑ Kaplan, Ilana (August 22, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen Will Release 'E•MO•TION: Side B' to Celebrate One-Year Anniversary". Spin. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  24. ↑ Galbraith, Alex (August 24, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen's New 'E•MO•TION: Side B' Songs Are A Freefall Sugar Rush". Uproxx. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  25. ↑ Martinelli, Marissa (August 22, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen Is Releasing a Collection of Emotion B-Sides, and It's Coming This Friday". Slate. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  26. ↑ Williot, Carl (August 24, 2016). "Preview All Eight Songs From Carly Rae Jepsen's 'E•MO•TION: Side B'". Idolator. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  27. ↑ Wright, Hayden (August 26, 2016). "Carly Rae Jepsen Releases Surprise 'Side B' of 'Emotion' Album". Radio.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  28. ↑ "E•MO•TION Side B Autographed CD + Digital". Carly Rae Jepsen. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Carly Rae Jepsen - E Mo Tion Side B". Bull Moose. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 | Charts | Billboard JAPAN". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  31. ↑ "カーリー・レイ・ジェプセン、話題の映画のエンディングテーマを初CD収録した『エモーション・サイドB＋』発売が決定！". Universal Music Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 3, 2017. 「カット・トゥ・ザ・フィーリング」はこれまで配信限定リリースとなっていたが、今回世界のどこよりも早く日本でCDに初収録となる。
  32. ↑ "E-MO-TION Side B Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  33. ↑ "The 10 Best EPs & Mixtapes Of 2016". Idolator. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Top 20 Albums of 2016". MuuMuse. December 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Top 10 Albums of 2016". EdgeMediaNetwork. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2016". Gorilla vs. Bear. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2016". The Skinny. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  38. ↑ "25 Great EPs From 2016". Stereogum. December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Albums of the Year". The A.V. Club. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  40. ↑ Pitchfork Staff (December 6, 2016). "The 20 Best Pop and R&B Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  41. ↑ "15 Best Albums of 2016". date. Teen Vogue. December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  42. ↑ "The 100 Songs of 2016". date. December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  43. ↑ "The 101 Songs of 2016". date. Spin. December 15, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  44. ↑ "The 115 Songs of 2016". date. The Fader. December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  45. 1 2 "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  46. 1 2 "CHART WATCH #384". auspOp. September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  47. 1 2 "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  48. ↑ Caulfield, Keith. "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Ariana Grande's 'Dangerous' VMA Gain, Carly Rae Jepsen's 'B-Side' Set Debuts". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  49. 1 2 "Billboard Top Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  50. ↑ "エモーション・サイドB+【CD】 | カーリー・レイ・ジェプセン | UNIVERSAL MUSIC STORE". Universal Music Store (in Japanese). Universal Music, LLC. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  51. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 35, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  52. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 5, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  53. ↑ Chart Log UK: "CLUK Update 3.09.2016 (wk35)". UK Albums Chart. Zobbel.de. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Emotion Side B" – via Amazon.
  55. ↑ "E•MO•TION Side B Autographed CD + Digital". Carly Rae Jepsen.
  56. ↑ "E-MO-TION: Side B". 3 March 2017 – via Amazon.
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