REVIEW: âCautionâ - Mariah Carey
best song: âStay Long Love You"
worst song: "GTFO"
hon. mentions: â8th Gradeâ, The Distanceâ, âGiving Me Lifeâ
The vocal confectionist kept it light in terms of frosting and sugar drizzles, which I think is a testament to the strength of these records as thereâs still some very hearty, full-bodied, cake present. This album has the most potential energy of her more recent releases. The foundations of the songs are stronger than theyâve been for a while, and though at times she fails to realize all the harmonic, melodic, and climatic potential of a song â as on âCautionâ â or she mistakenly leaves a feel good bop too underdeveloped (and therefore vapid and redundant) â as on âA No Noâ â she still manages to create a solid body of work. Ultimately, Mariahâs back in good form. Sheâs excited, and Iâm excited about it. This is the most confident and comfortable sheâs been in years and the material reflects it.
The sonics of this record place it in tandem with Erykah Baduâs âBut You Cainât Use My Phoneâ and Lalah Hathawayâs âhonestlyâ. However, this is more characteristic of Mariah than those two, which is part of the reason she sounds so much more at home than they did on their projects (and than Lalah specifically). âCautionâ is both âButterflyâ and âThe Emancipation of Mimiâ minded. This is âButterflyâ in the world where âThe Roofâ and âBabydollâ are the album highlights, and more than meeting that task. The world where âMine Againâ and âStay the Nightâ are âMimiââs. In their places we get âGiving Me Lifeâ and âStay Long Love Youâ, respectively. This is Mariah, as a more seasoned artist, further expounding on the idea she and Mary J. Blige introduced. Hip-Hop plus some SINGINâ singing. What Mary J. did with soul vocals and emotional depth, Mariah did with ethereal pop vocals and compositional complexity. Mariah is in such good spirit and vocal shape here itâs reminiscent of 2005, the era her fans describe as her second prime. Iâd go as far as to say the best songs on here sound like throwaways from that album, that is, they are comparably strong ideas though they donât all execute as brilliantly (as âShake It Offâ, âWe Belong Togetherâ, or âFly Like A Birdâ).
Album highlight âGiving Me Lifeâ is easily my favorite song. Slick Rick sounds quick and fit, and with as much wit as ever, and his verse feels like bumping into your uncle for the first time in a while and seeing heâs doing well in body and mind: It was a blessing. And the warm, stanky, groove Dev Hynes strokes out of the production with that fuzzy-like-a-bumblebee bass line makes it feel so Black, itâs a fellowship. Mariah is full on New York mixed girl here. We get the swag of hip hop, the attitude of an elusive chanteuse, and the hilariously hyperbolic and yet appropriate slang of Black LGBT folk (which sounds great on her as we know itâs authentic: she really talks like that and isnât just adopting or co-opting the language for cool points). The other highlights include âThe Distanceâ and the breezy âStay Long Love Youâ which sounds like Harlem in the summer time, specifically Harlem summer 2004. The summer of âYou Donât Know My Nameâ and âAll Falls Downâ and âYeahâ. âThe Distanceâ is a great feeling modern dance track, with a spastic bass line and anchoring drums that jump your pulse and get you right into a sturdy ass head bop. The strength of this record is definitely in the latter half.
I firmly believe the pre-album singles do this record no justice. âGTFOâ specifically was corny, and lazily attempted to capitalize off of shock value. I imagine the conversation after it dropped being âOh my god, Mariah is singing curses on a vibey song,â which may interest initially but the song is so weak it couldnât even hold my interest until the end. To her credit though, Mariah did say the song was a just-for-fun record that happened in the spirit of improv and I think a post-album release, in similar vein to BeyoncĂŠâs just-for-fun â7/11â, would have better communicated that to the public. It definitely should not have lead this album roll out. âWith Youâ is similarly weak, but I think thatâs due mostly to the fact that it followed âGTFOâ. So hopefully, âWith Youâ can find new life on shuffle in playlists as there is some compositional and emotional depth present.
Overall, this is a strong effort from Mariah. I imagine this album has the same energy as âButterflyâ and âThe Emancipation of Mimiâ because she, again, feels free. Free from the drama, and negative relationships both romantic and professional, and maybe even from negative self-talk. Sheâs in great spirits, she sounds good, she feels good, and thatâs oozing out of the record. So even on weaker songs like âA No Noâ and âCautionâ the fun cup runneth over so much you just want a taste, and so you join the soul train line to 2 step to the undeniable bops. More than the strength of this album alone, this album feels as though it marks a kind of return for the criminally underrated artist. Her voice isnât as big and agile as it used to be, but her songwriting is as potent and interesting as ever. I mean after all, this is the writer of the American holiday classic âAll I Want Is Youâ. She has 18 #1 singles for a reason: she knows what the fuck sheâs doing. Be cautious, Mariahâs back and as good as always. 6.5/10.
Rate: 6.5/10
Dopeness Level: x8000
Lyrical Depth Level: x7000
Sonic Beauty Level: x7000
(Sonic) Cohesiveness Level: x7000
Style Level: x8000
...by Teâvon Walker












