Camila Cabello's self-titled album was just released days ago, so lets go into how she did! I've heard some of the songs many times already since she released them as singles before the entire album came out (meaning Never Be The Same, Havana, Real Friends), but the rest I have only heard a handful of times. Yet, already this album stands out and seems to me that I'll enjoy listening to it for months to come.
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Camila is a refreshing take on pop albums, including so many exciting and melancholy songs in an order that makes sense to the tug-of-war story she's weaves for the listener. With this album, Camila proves she has both a versatile voice that can work in any genre (slow or fast, electric or not) and a creative songwriting mind. She masterfully pairs this with a production team that can really describe her story through sound. The extensive variety of songs presented creates an album that tells a cohesive story of the inconclusive journey to finding meaningful, exciting relationships and that of leaving the toxic ones. To do so requires courage instead of trudging backwards with desperation. You must leave the familiar behind - no matter how addictive - even though the new relationships will be clouded. But, the mystery is the exciting part of life.
Every song in the album has a different tone than the one before it to showcase this turmoil between the familiar and the beyond. She shows that happiness and the exhilaration of life isn't constant, but the balance of that and the bad things is what really makes life worth it. "Consequences" is an individual embodiment of this theme, as the entire song gives off a dreamy and warm feeling, but at the same time hint at the possibility of sadness and longing. Throughout the song, Camila reveals the relationship wasn't perfect and came with consequences that stuck with her. Yet, as a whole, the song - and relationship - is beautiful and clearly worth going through.
The overall tone of the songs sound very natural and raw, with Camila's vocals and story encountering very little interference from the instruments and production choies (most represented in the ballads). Yet, In the Dark is the furthest deviation from this. In the Dark gives off an eerie and techno vibe but includes raw vocals which draw in the listener, just as Camila is drawn into the relationship at hand. It really has like an out-of-this-world feeling, which fits since its about figuring out the deeper, more interesting parts of her significant other are. This is something exciting, new, and yet risky, given the stories from the other songs about heartbreak and discovering darker traits of the other person. "Who are you in the dark?" is a question she implicitly asked throughout the previous 8 songs, and in those instances, it was after-the-fact when she realized her unhappiness in her relationship. So, this song's take on the mystery of relationships is a precursor to the conversation of those other songs - the excitement of learning about a person's true character, all before the feelings of negativity and doubt settle in.
Camila isn't a combination of random sounds and messages, but also isn't the same thing over and over. Instead, its a delicate blend of genres, sounds, instruments, production choices, lyrics, and themes that give the listeners a peek not only into Camila's life, but into their own.