c,xoxo - review

Pegged as Cabello’s hyper-pop rebrand, a claim repeatedly dismissed, comes the star’s fourth studio album, “C,XOXO.” The project serves as an indirect love letter to Miami, with lush synths and commanding bass-lines entwining across the 14-track project. With guest appearances from Lil Nas X, JT, Yung Miami, BLP Kosher, Playboy Carti, and Drake (twice?), Camila’s effort to showcase versatility frequently lands, but often feels like a shaky attempt at a concept album.

The album’s lead single, “I LUV IT,” immediately sent the internet into frenzy. While some applauded Camila for experimenting with her sound, others were quick to call out the similarities to Charli XCX’s track, “I Got It,” from 2017’s “Pop 2.” Despite the hook bordering on interpolation, “I LUV IT” is a calculated, yet misleading move on Camila’s part. The initial TikTok clip of the track insinuated an avant-garde, if-you-get-it-you-get-it sound, however, the track shocked much less than anticipated. Not only is it digestible, but the repetitive chorus is about as “weird” as it gets. Nonetheless, it serves as a pleasant and striking introductory to the album.

Extending just over 30 minutes, the brief record has four interludes, multiple with Camila completely absent (koshi xoxo, Uuugly), and a whopping three ballads (Twentysomethings, B.O.A.T., June Gloom). “June Gloom,” a sure-fire standout, sees Camila recollecting a past relationship (we can guess who…) whilst simultaneously flexing her own cockiness. “Does she move like this for you, darlin?” croons a heart-wrenching falsetto. “B.O.A.T.” confusingly samples Pitbull’s “Hotel Room Service,” and somehow breathes vehemence into the all-too-familiar melody. Amidst the slight-chaos of non-transitional interludes and balladry laced between exploratory pop, Camila handles these somber-motifs with authenticity.

As anticipated in this dive into uncharted territory, Camila hits peaks and valleys in a manner that doesn’t completely write off specific tracks, but often slightly misses the mark. “DREAM-GIRLS” tries a bit to hard to strike the girl-power chord, and “Dade Country Dreaming” falls into a similar trope, feeling slightly underproduced with nor the vocals or City Girl’s feature being sufficient enough to take it into banger territory. On the contrary, she’s onto something with “Chanel No. 5” and it’s (not long enough!) successor “pink xoxo.” “Wrist, wrist, spritz, spritz, make him come alive,” she coos across a beat that echoes Rosalia's “MOTOMAMI,” in a cadence often evoking her rap collaborators.

“C,XOXO” may not be the Charli XCX/SOPHIE inspired project it was made out/alluded to be from it’s visuals and teasers, but it is an effort from Camila that feels like a natural progression. Envisioned to soundtrack rich Florida sunsets and fluorescent dance-floors, tracks like “HE KNOWS,” “pretty when i cry,” and “HOT UPTOWN” are sure to make their way into DJ-mixes and night-out Spotify playlists all summer long, which is perhaps all Camila intended for in the first place.