Tabitha Wilson
Camila Cabello has released her latest album, C, XOXO, to mixed reviews. Is the criticism justified, or is C, XOXO the singer’s most introspective record to date?
Cabello began her career as a member of girl group Fifth Harmony, after appearing on The X Factor US in 2012 when she was just 15.
The group went on to achieve global success, with their track Work from Home charting in the Top 10 internationally. However, Cabello left the group at the end of 2016. The reasons for her departure were unclear.
Going Solo
Her 2018 debut solo album, Camila, was a hit, with single Havana – inspired by her Cuban roots – reaching Number 1 in 23 countries worldwide. The track led to the popstar being nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Albums Romance and Familia followed, but C, XOXO takes a markedly different approach to her previous aesthetic and sound. The record has polarised listeners. Some fans online have declared it her best work yet, and others feel let down by this new direction.
A New Direction
C, XOXO is a fast-paced, unrestrained exploration of love, loss and life in your twenties. The artist breaks away from her cookie-cutter, commercial pop of the past, and instead has created music that wouldn’t feel out of place in a club.
Hyper-pop lead single I Luv It layers off-beat, skittish vocals over a chaotic instrumental with a well-placed feature from Playboy Carti. The track, which went viral on TikTok, definitely takes a few listens to warm up to, but is a surprising earworm.
https://www.tiktok.com/@sarea.dc/video/7358120231283199264?lang=en
Chanel No.5 interlaces a juddery piano track with hollow, yet catchy lyrics: “Cute girl with a sick mind / I know just how to play my cards right /Wrist, wrist, spritz, spritz, make him come alive (Ah) /Chanel N°5.”
Some of the album’s stronger songs are the more melancholic, thoughtful numbers. Twentysomethings explores a messy situationship, with the singer showing her vulnerability when she admits she doesn’t know what she’s doing.
Making Use of Features
Cabello makes heavy use of featured artists on the album. He Knows layers Lil Nas X’s slick vocals with a spiky synth instrumental, while Dade County Dreaming, featuring JT and Yung Miami, explores female friendship, mixing these themes with a gloriously dark beat.
“a fast-paced, unrestrained exploration of love, loss and life in your twenties”
Hot Uptown and Uuugly, both featuring Drake, are easily skips. There are times when it feels as though Cabello is being upstaged on her own album, owing to the amount of features on the record.
The best songs on C, XOXO come at the end of the record. The stunningly sad B.O.A.T. reflects on a past relationship with the synth sample of Pitbull’s party anthem Hotel Room Service feeling hauntingly perfect in the context of the track. You can almost envision Cabello standing in the bathroom of a club reminiscing and regretting.
Pretty when I cry feels like an updated version of Havana with a Latin-inspired instrumental over sultry vocals. Here, it feels as though Cabello has finally found her voice.
The final track, June Gloom, seems heavily influenced by Lana Del Rey with dreamy, delicate vocals and a muted instrumental. Cabello’s lyricism is straightforward, but this is a stylistic choice that works. It perfectly encapsulates the desperate feeling of wanting an ex-lover to remember you.
Cabello’s Confidence
The interludes in the album – pink, xoxo, koshi, xoxo and 305tillidie – are pretty but forgetful. Whether deliberate or not, the unfinished feel of these short snippets leave the listener longing for more.
Cabello could have leaned into her new party-girl persona more fervently. It’s just not believable enough, so the album feels underdeveloped and rough around the edges, however, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s clear inspiration taken from artists like Kesha, Troye Sivan and Charli XCX throughout. Whilst C, XOXO is no brat, its hot-headed, almost trashy soundscape puts Cabello on a level playing field with her musical contemporaries.
With a few more songs and some tighter production, C, XOXO could be the starlet’s best work to date.
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Featured image courtesy of Walt Disney Television via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
Tabitha Wilson
Tabitha is an MA Journalism student at Sheffield University. She has previously worked as a maritime journalist, and studied politics at Durham University. She enjoys writing about music, culture, and travel.