Pop efforts now rely on singles and whatever is offered through social media. For Ariana Grande and her latest album Eternal Sunshine, this is not quite the case. There is plenty to chastise her and other artists aiming for the top spot on the charts with their sped-up, slowed down and instrumental extras, but for Grande to rely on one single to promote this one is slightly exciting – though weighed down by the feverish millions waiting in the wings to proclaim this her most recent masterpiece, the last allegedly released in 2020. Did it feel deflating to hear this would be another relationship album? Somewhat. It means Grande relies on a tool not used in her recent efforts. Instrumental interest.
Opener intro (end of the world) does hold the genuine sense Grande can deploy. She is certainly putting her heart into this, though her soul and patterns follow that of most other pop records. Nothing bad, nothing good, but Bye sounds similar and recycled. The greenest thumbs in music are those of chart-toppers with endless streams and empty tracks. Grande at least holds some reflection in these tunes, though they feel light on said emotional infliction and looser in their production. Don’t Wanna Break Up Again sounds like a song lifted from a forgotten Sade album, ending as abruptly as the sudden introduction of its message. Whatever Saturn Returns Interlude means is entirely Grande’s business but in the process of using it as a piece of filler on a record barely over the half-hour mark, it feels disingenuous and as though it covers the lacking artistic pull of a selection of dud tracks.
Bar its lead and only single, much of Eternal Sunshine feels like loose pop slop. Supernatural is a wonderful number for those who still hang dream catchers and title track Eternal Sunshine comes and goes without any real effect. It is likely the pained and similar production, the doomed continuation of plain stock. Time, mind and mine all make up the generalised “get what you want” status of The Boy is Mine, and it never reaches a higher spot under Max Martin’s production. His Britney Spears hit hands are still trying to produce that same sound and it benefits nobody, especially not Grande. Tracks to focus on intimacy and hitting back at divorce controversy, but without the legs to stand independent once the times have died down.
Eternal Sunshine begins to drag, a shocking slog of a record considering how brief it is. We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) has all the upbeat scope needed of a pop run, and it marks an increase in quality – a short-lived one but still a rise. Plain imagery like guitars in the backseat or thrown clothes before the breach of clarity provides Grande with amicable work, and easy-to-understand flutters where her heartfelt message is obscured. A stretch of sentimental sincerity through I Wish I Hated You and Imperfect For You certainly helps. Empty stuff, though Grande’s grandmother and the spoken word spots feel like a tribute to family in the briefest of moments. Nothing else about Eternal Sunshine feels all that targeted, even with the expectation of defence or familial love as the context. Grande marks a selection of withering pop hits but tries to salvage it towards the end.
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