The Loveliest Time

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The Loveliest Time
Studio album by
Carly Rae Jepsen
ReleasedJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
Recorded2020–2022
Studio
  • Cow Pow Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
  • Henson Recording Studios
  • Jake&Coke Studios
  • Master Projects (Los Angeles, California)
  • Patrik's House (Stockholm, Sweden)
  • Rodeo Recording (Venice, California)
  • Studio 53 (London)
  • Valley Girl Studio (Highland Park, California)
Length43:34
Label
Producer
Carly Rae Jepsen chronology
The Loneliest Time
(2022) 		The Loveliest Time
(2023)
Singles from The Loveliest Time
  1. "Shy Boy"
    Released: June 23, 2023
  2. "Shadow"
    Released: August 25, 2023[1]

The Loveliest Time is the seventh studio album by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen, released on July 28, 2023, by 604, Schoolboy and Interscope Records.[2] It serves as a companion piece to The Loneliest Time (2022), featuring songs from recording sessions for that album. It was preceded by the single "Shy Boy" and received positive reviews.

Background[edit]

In February 2020, while embarking on The Dedicated Tour, Jepsen began collecting ideas for her sixth studio album. Her creativity was stimulated by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting her to transform an old office space in her Los Angeles residence into a home studio.[3] The recording sessions for what would become The Loneliest Time produced over 65 B-sides, which Jepsen told her A&R representative that she "could make something of."[4]

In July 2023, nine months after the release of The Loneliest Time, Jepsen confirmed that a "B-side" companion album would be released.[5][6] The singer previously released "B-side" albums Emotion: Side B and Dedicated Side B, which featured songs recorded during sessions for their respective "A-side" albums.[7] In an interview with Variety, Jepsen explained the decision to make another "B-side" album without including it in the album title:[8]

"Since doing this B-sides offering, from Emotion to Dedicated to now, I really leaned into it being one of the most exciting processes for me. The B-sides territory is this expansive world where I can play in all directions. [...] I knew by this time, [when] I made The Loneliest Time that The Loveliest Time was coming. The Loneliest Time Side B just sounds like a downer. It was already quite a weighted thing to call something like The Loneliest Time, but The Loneliest Time Side B, I just couldn't do it."

Composition and themes[edit]

I didn't want it to just be as simple as a dark and a light. We're not as simple as that as humans. [...] It's more about stepping into the experience of being alive and coming out from that state of hibernation and then loneliness. [...] There are so many flowers in a lot of my images because I like the idea of planting yourself in this clean dirt, and from this, a beautiful growth can happen. I want it to like feel like growth and sound like celebration. Those were the main concepts for me. [...] A lot of the songs were written from a place where I still hadn't met anybody I was that excited about; it was this longing for that. It's been a weird thing of life imitating art because I feel like I've written all these experiences that now in real life I'm getting to have and it’s odd to have it be written first and then kind of happen afterwards.

— Carly Rae Jepsen on The Loveliest Time[9]

The project featured production credits from Rostam Batmanglij and James Ford.[10][11] Batmanglij shared that the material he had contributed was upbeat, tweeting, "The two we did for The Loveliest Time have BPMs—get ready to dance." Jepsen said that the album was "sort of the completion to The Loneliest Time", adding that the songs were inspired by "fantasies" about being able to "travel again and fall madly in love and live life like it's an adventure."[12] The album's lead single "Shy Boy" was released on June 23, 2023.[13]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
American Songwriter[15]
Paste7.8/10[16]
Pitchfork7.4/10[17]
Slant Magazine[18]

The Loveliest Time received a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 8 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[14]

Kate Solomon of the i called the album "really cohesive, exciting and very, very fun".[19] Steve Erickson of Slant Magazine said the "more joyful, vibrant songs" act as a "sonic and thematic counterpoint" to The Loneliest Time,[18] but claimed that the album is "less consistent" than Jepsen's 2020 release Dedicated Side B. Pitchfork's Harry Tafoya wrote that "where The Loneliest Time was steeped in personal loss and pandemic malaise, The Loveliest is strutting and extroverted, drunk off new love and bracingly direct about desire", calling it "a solid counterpart to its sister album".[17] Upon the album's release, the song "Psychedelic Switch" was featured as Pitchfork's "Best New Track".[20]

Track listing[edit]

The Loveliest Time – Standard edition[21]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Anything to Be with You"
3:17
2."Kamikaze"
Jack & Coke2:59
3."After Last Night"
Rostam Batmanglij3:29
4."Aeroplanes"
  • Jepsen
  • Berger
Berger3:21
5."Shy Boy"
James Ford3:29
6."Kollage"
  • Jepsen
  • Berger
Berger4:17
7."Shadow"
  • Jepsen
  • Batmanglij
Batmanglij2:49
8."Psychedelic Switch"
  • Jepsen
  • Shearer
  • Nate Cyphert
Kyle Shearer4:32
9."So Right"
Cole Marsden Greif-Neill3:36
10."Come Over"
  • Jepsen
  • John Hill
  • Jordan Palmer
  • Campany
  • John Hill
  • Jordan Palmer
2:54
11."Put It to Rest"
  • Jepsen
  • Bao
  • Berger
Berger3:18
12."Stadium Love"
  • Lewis OfMan
  • Oliver Lundström
2:51
Total length:40:52
The Loveliest Time – Japanese and digital edition (bonus track)[22][23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Weekend Love"
  • Jepsen
  • Gruska
Gruska2:42
Total length:43:34

Notes

Personnel[edit]

Musicians

  • Carly Rae Jepsen – vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 2, 7, 8, 13)
  • Patrik Berger – programming (1, 11), drums (1), keyboards (4, 6, 11)
  • Elliot Bergman – horn (1)
  • Markus Krunegård – programming (1)
  • Jakob Hazell – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (2)
  • Svante Halldin – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (2)
  • Rostam Batmanglij – drum programming, percussion, synthesizer (3, 7); drum machine, strings (3); synth bass (7)
  • Angel Deradoorian – background vocals (3)
  • Joey Messina-Doerning – piano (3)
  • Jesper Nordenström – keyboards (4, 6, 11)
  • Cristoffer Cantillo – drums (4), percussion (11)
  • James Ford – bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (5)
  • Rob Moose – strings (5)
  • Danielle Haim – drums (7)
  • Nate Cyphert – background vocals (8, 9)
  • Kyle Shearer – background vocals, bass guitar, drum programming, guitar, synthesizer (8)
  • Cole M.G.N. – drum programming, electric bass, electric guitar, synthesizer (9)
  • Evan Smith – saxophone (9)
  • Jordan Palmer – bass guitar, drums, guitar, synthesizer(10)
  • John Hill – bass guitar, drums, guitar, synthesizer (10)
  • Nils Törnqvist – drums (11)
  • Oliver Lundström – additional vocals, bass guitar, drums, synthesizer (12)
  • Lewis OfMan – sampler, synthesizer, synthesizer programming (12)
  • Ethan Gruska – bass guitar, Mellotron, percussion, programming, synthesizer (13)

Technical

  • Ruairi O'Flaherty – mastering
  • Lars Stalfors – mixing (1, 14)
  • Alex Ghenea – mixing (2)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (3, 7)
  • Anthony Dolhai – mixing (4–6, 11, 12)
  • Ike Schultz – mixing (8)
  • David Wrench – mixing (9)
  • Tom Norris – mixing (10)
  • Patrik Berger – engineering (1, 4, 6, 11)
  • Michelle Amkoff – engineering (1, 4, 6, 11)
  • Jack & Coke – engineering (2)
  • Rostam Batmanglij – engineering (3, 7)
  • Joey Messina-Doerning – engineering (3, 7)
  • James Ford – engineering (5)
  • Kyle Shearer – engineering (8)
  • Cole M.G.N. – engineering (9)
  • Rob Cohen – engineering (10)
  • Oliver Lundström – engineering (12)
  • Ethan Gruska – engineering (13)
  • Nacho Sotelo – mix engineering (4, 6, 11, 12)
  • Anthony Vilchis – mixing assistance (3, 7)
  • Trey Station – mixing assistance (3, 7)
  • Zach Pereyra – mixing assistance (3, 7)

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for The Loveliest Time
Chart (2023) Peak
position
German Digital Albums (GfK Entertainment)[24] 63
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 48
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[26] 20
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[27] 39
UK Physical Albums (OCC)[28] 35
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 32
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[30] 22

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for The Loveliest Time
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various July 28, 2023
[31]
September 8, 2023
[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Peacock, Tim (August 25, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Casts A 'Shadow' With New George Daniel Remix". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  2. ^ Aniftos, Rania (July 12, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Reveals 'The Loveliest Time' Album Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Kaplan, Ilana (August 5, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen: More than a Feeling". Crack. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Bell, Keaton (October 25, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen's Loneliest Hour". Vogue. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Mier, Tomás (July 6, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Announces 'The Loveliest Time,' a Followup to Her Last Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Strauss, Matthew (July 12, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Announces Release Date for New Album The Loveliest Time". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  7. ^ Long, Jen (July 24, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen and the other side: Interview". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Seo, Rachel (July 28, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen on 'Experimental' Album 'The Loveliest Time': It's a 'Place to Get Wild and Freaky'". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Spanos, Brittany (July 19, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Says Her New Project 'The Loveliest Time' Is Her Favorite -- and Freest -- Album Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Anderson, Carys (July 5, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Teases New Album The Loveliest Time with Production from Rostam". Consequence. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Green, Walden (July 6, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen announces The Loveliest Time companion album". The Fader. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  12. ^ LaPierre, Megan (July 6, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Confirms The Loneliest Time B-Sides Collection Featuring Rostam". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  13. ^ LaPierre, Megan (June 15, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Sets 'Shy Boy' Release Date". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on June 15, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "The Loveliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  15. ^ Uitti, Jacob (July 28, 2023). "Review: Carly Rae Jepsen Showcases a 24-Carat Voice on The Loveliest Time". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Salmon, Ben (July 28, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen Finds Freedom in Exploration on The Loveliest Time". Paste. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Tafoya, Harry (August 2, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen: The Loveliest Time Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Erickson, Steve (July 28, 2023). "Carly Rae Jepsen The Loveliest Time Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  19. ^ Solomon, Kate (July 27, 2023). "Pop's cult hero Carly Rae Jepsen gets weird and finds gold on her new album". i. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  20. ^ Pinder, Jaeden (July 28, 2023). "Love Is the Drug on Carly Rae Jepsen's French-Touch Banger 'Psychedelic Switch'". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "The Loveliest Time Standard". carlyraemusic.com. Interscope Records. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  22. ^ "The Loveliest Time Carly Rae Jepsen CD Album". CDJapan.
  23. ^ "604 Shop – Your Favourite Music, Merch and Comedy in One Place".
  24. ^ "Download Charts Album – Aktualisiert am: 07.08.2023" (in German). mtv.de. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  26. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  28. ^ "Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  30. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  31. ^ "The Loveliest Time". music.apple.com. Apple Inc. July 28, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
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