Album review: Mariah Carey - E=MC²

Poor Mariah suffered a public breakdown (less glamorous than how she made it look on Butterfly) during which time Glitter and Charmbracelet failed to reach the commercial highs of all that came before. So with a brand new record deal, a new team around her and finally being in a better place in her life, Mariah's last effort, the largely successful The emancipation of Mimi was very much a 'show and prove' album. E=MC² on the other hand is from a lady who is 100% confident in her style, feels she has nothing left to prove and just wants to make a cool record. And in that respect Mariah succeeds.

E=MC² is wholly uptempo for the most part, serving up songs which are both summer and single ready. The album opener "Migrate" is the albums' definitive fanga-snappa. Mariah butchered the shit out of this song when she performed it live on Saturday night live and had me hating it. But the finalised album version is hotness. The reggae tinged "Cruise control" has Mariah bringing a reggae type swagger to the table. The song is about Mariah falling for a no good dude who has 6 baby mothers and runs the block. So it's fitting that it features Damien Marley. His father (the late Bob Marley) had baby mothers up and down the island of Jamaica. "I'm that chick" will go down well with anybody who liked the swoony, 70s soul session feel of songs such as "Circles" from The emancipation of Mimi. The song is a nice smooth Disco groove that young'ns and oldies alike can step to. It's produced by Stargate which will shock anybody who felt these dudes could not produce a song that didn't sound like Ne-Yo's "So sick", "Sexy love" or Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable". "I'll be lovin' U long time" is a sure fire contender for a single and is one of the albums strongest cuts. The song is just fire from start to finish.

Given "We belong together" and "Don't forget about us" were huge hits for Mariah, it's no surprise she's had Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox recycle the sound. "I stay in love", "Love story", "Last kiss", "Thanx for nothin'" and "For the record" all have that post "We belong together" and "Don't forget about us" sound that we've been bombarded with over the past 2 years. Kicks, finger snaps and a piano and a harpsichord providing a melody. "I stay in love", "Thanx for nothin'" and "For the record" are great tracks, but the album could've done without "Love story" and "Last kiss" as they're complete filler.

As for ballads, we have one in the form of "Bye bye". Again, it has the whole "Don't forget about us" sound about it. But it's lyrics are moving, substantial and heartfelt. Even if Mariah was probably laying her vocals down in the studio dressed in a silk dressing gown, with a bottle of Moet in one hand and a wind machine, whilst turned at a 90 degree angle so the studio engineer can't see the left side of her face. Mariah seems to be ditching what was her trademark ballads completely. Not since Charmbracelet have we heard a power ballad from Mariah. I'm glad Mariah is moving on with her sound, but part of me wishes we would've gotten at least one big ballad or at least something in the vein of "Circles". Still, "Bye bye" is a nice song. "I wish you well" has Mariah giving Gospel vibes as she did on The emancipation of Mimi's closer "Fly like a bird". Whilst a nice song, it feels too contrived and as though too much effort was put into making it sound just like "Fly like a bird". "Bye bye" would've more than made for a perfectly fine close to the album.

Mariah's songwriting on E=MC² is no better than it was before. Some of her lyrics still sound like they were written by an 8 year old, and with each line you can guess what Mariah's going to rhyme it with on the next. But one thing you have to give Mariah credit for is knowing how to pen a catchy chorus, something I don't think Mariah gets enough props for. Sure, lines such as ♪ Wrestle me around, throw me on the floor ♪ and ♪ I got flavours like ice cream ♪ aren't the most sophisticated lyrics from a woman nearing 40 - but I'll be damned if they aren't catchy. Also, we don't always need grand sophistication. It's clear this was album was about Mariah having fun and not feeling the pressures of releasing an album to prove her relevancy.

Vocally Mariah's vocals have suffered a little over the years (I'm guessing that whistle shit she kept doing has fucked up her throat), but Mariah still sounds great. She sings with a confidence she hasn't done for years. Fans will also notice that Mariah's studio voice has been taken up a notch. Auto tuning, vocoding and layering feature heavily on this album. Nobody is disputing Mariah's vocal ability, but the studio trickery is definitely more noticeable on this album than on her previous recordings. She sounds a lot more polished and layered than she ever has before. I guess when you hit the later years you need all the extra help you can get. Madonna and Janet are not too proud to have their shit layered to death, so why should Mariah? Regardless, she sounds hot and if anything it does her wonders and causes the songs to sound incredibly tight. Mariah does not miss a beat.

The question on everyone's lips is: Is E=MC² a better album than The emancipation of Mimi? And to that I'd have to say, kinda. Something about the way Mariah laces the songs on this album put it leagues ahead of what Mariah has done in the past. It's as though she finally understands what fans want from her. We don't want Minnie Ripperton style whistles at the end of every song. We don't want stupid arse whispering that only Bats and Canines can hear. We want to hear THE voice. We want to hear Mariah ride every beat like her life depends on it. E=MC² also has more energy about it than The emancipation of Mimi had. E=MC² is a fun and cool listen from start to finish. There's never a period where the album loses you (aside from a couple of filler tracks courtesy of Mr. Dupri). But the problem with this album is that the songs don't have as much replay value as those on The emancipation of Mimi, which is what will ultimately be this albums shortcoming in the long run.

RATING: 7 / 10

Album highlights:
■ Migrate
■ Touch my body
■ Cruise control
■ I'm that chick
■ I'll be lovin' U long time ★ J's fave
■ Thanx 4 nothin'
■ For the record