This past Valentine’s Day, Alessia Cara released her fifth album, featuring 14 songs. Her first album, “Know-It-All,” is where she originally gained popularity for songs such as “Here,” and “Scars To Your Beautiful.” Cara has evolved into also doing multiple songs for movies and shows throughout her career. “Love & Hyperbole” really displays her personal growth.
Ten years later, Cara carries the same vibes in a more mature feeling, taking similar themes from her old music and reimagining them in more sophisticated fashion.
The album opens up with “Go Outside!” a super fun, boppy beat to put listeners into the groove of the album. Cara’s vocals immediately shine through as this song opens up, which is something that will always carry her music to the next level.
Despite the upbeat tone, “Go Outside!” is actually her opening up about her mental health using symbolism in lyrics like “I know the rain, but how do I let in the light,” where rain symbolizes the dark days. Another example, later on would be the lyrics “How can I come back to Earth when I can’t go outside,” indicating that she is having a hard time getting out of the house. The song is full of meaningful lyrics disguised by that boppy beat.
“Drive,” while having a similar meaning behind it, handles the topic in a much different manner. Rather than masking the heavy lyricism with a fast and bright beat, “Drive” leans into the sad lyrics with a slower beat and lets Cara’s voice really convey her emotions.
Moving on from the ongoing mental health theme, “Left Alone” is a beautiful song about becoming healthy after a rough relationship and learning to be okay alone. The chorus is catchy and straightforward in this theme and Cara obviously feels what she’s saying when she sings, “So, it don’t matter, we’ll both grow / I’m much better on my own / ah, some things are better left alone.”
“Run Run” feels contradictory to “Left Alone.” Instead of the overall meaning that she thinks they would be better without each other, Cara sings about how she is the problem and that this person should “run as fast as [they] can from [her].” This seems to represent the conflicting feelings someone can go through during a hard breakup.
Cara’s unmatched vocals shine through in the next song, “Subside.” Cara opens up the song with little background music while she sings part of the chorus; she keeps up with fewer instrumentals for this song as her vocals carry the song along. The meaning behind her lyrics can be heard so easily through her beautiful voice.
“Get To You” has the same kind of balance between her vocals and the background instrumentals. The use of a quiet beat under her vocals during the verse and a faster, more upbeat instrumental behind her choruses is common in Cara’s music, but she makes it work so perfectly with her raw vocals. Rather than this method sounding repetitive, it works as an emphasis for her voice taking listeners on a rollercoaster of emotions and energy levels.
Marking the album just over half done, “Garden Interlude” showcases yet another new sound from Cara. In this song, Cara seems to be talking to someone who she fell for unexpectedly, expressing this with the lyrics, “Sweeping me up like an air balloon / Seeing through me like a bad excuse.” It’s a very cute confession of love in an album that mostly talks about breakups and mental health.
The next four songs are also love songs, whether they’re about following the feeling at the start of a relationship, how someone made her heart melt, or the want of an unofficial fling to become a real thing, she uses her lyrics perfectly.
However, the closing track on this album, “Clearly,” gives listeners a beautiful resolution. Throughout the album, listeners gain insight into Cara’s relationship endeavors and can apply them to their own experiences. This last song gives hope that things will eventually be okay between listeners and their former partners.
“Clearly” is a comforting song that lets people know they’re not alone and that things will be okay eventually. The lyrics, “I visit the beginning and we’ve really grown / I’ve analyzed the ending through a telescope / Some things can work out until they just don’t,” really helps listeners realize they’re not alone in this feeling.
Overall, this album is a beautiful work of love mixed with heartbreak and how mental health can play into both parts. Cara’s vocals and strong feelings towards her music really complete the album and take the storytelling to an even higher level. “Love & Hyperbole” opens new doors for her music by connecting back to her original style and mixing in new aspects to Cara’s music.
