Displaying a professional savvy her cheerfully naive persona belies,
Meghan Trainor
ditches the retro sensibilities that fueled her debut album,
Title
, on its swiftly released successor,
Thank You
. By no means has
Trainor
abandoned her theatricality, but drama club exuberance is as inherent to
Meghan
's persona as
Katy Perry
's cheerleader pinup is to hers. The key to
is that she's swapped out Glee-ful retro pageantry in favor of modern R&B shepherded by executive producer
Ricky Reed
. Such a shift in sensibility means
feels fresher than
, and it's more coherent, too: everything stems from a clean, stylish sensibility. Even when she indulges in a throwback, as when the lights lower for the slow dance "Hopeless Romantic," the simple guitar and vocal arrangements function as a sly accent to the bright, bustling surroundings of the rest of
.
similarly rejiggers her lyrical outlook, leaving behind the attention-grabbing jokes and jibes, not to mention the antiquated sentiments of "Dear Future Husband," relying on the empowerment of "All About That Bass." "If I was you, I'd want to be me too," she sings on "Me Too," only to up the ante with "I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast, I love all y'all me the most." Even her mom is better than your mom. All these odes to self are designed to boost the self-esteem of her audience, not
herself, a point underscored by
's shiny, happy pop, equal parts modern R&B and Y2K throwback. Taken on a track by track basis, it can be silly fun -- even such goofball party numbers as "Dance Like Yo Daddy" contain a guileless charm -- and
is smart to keep things light and positive: it's a deliberately youthful sound in an era that yearns for maturity. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine