Meghan Trainor - Thank You

Meghan Trainor
Thank You
2016
Spotify

"All About That Bass" had all the makings of a perfect one hit wonder storm. Pandering, nostalgic and massive a follow up was never destined to make another splash, and Meghan Trainor does not disappoint. The writing borders on the absurd with singles like "Me Too" continuing to push the self empowerment narrative that she has expertly crafted. Instead of actually proving your confidence you can go ahead and talk about it until you are blue in the face because that will make it true. Thank You is far less Doo Wop than Trainor's last release, which gave it all of it's kitch, so instead we have her taking a stab at much more modern pop music. However her voice still has that swing that made it popular in the first place, so super imposing it on a different beat does not mean it's better. "NO" is something straight out of mid-nineties R&B so much so that you could hear someone like Brandy or Monica singing it. There is such a lack of care and respect in this music that it is frustrating to listen to. While female empowerment is great, it feels like a card being played here. On songs like "Woman Up" (get it, like man up?) the song is more about looking good for a night out rather than feeling emotionally strong, a more masculine slant on confidence. When Trainor attempts to croon, or sing a ballad like on "Hopeless Romantic" it is the worst kind of vacant songwriting. Even the metaphors used in the writing are so right on the nose that eye rolls rather than hip shaking is your first move.

The biggest offender in this respect has to be "I Love Me". An old school bassish line, obligatory semi-rapper, lots of snaps and of course repeating the line "I Love Me" over and over again in the slight hope that maybe if you pile enough bullshit in front people won't notice the vulnerability underneath. Perhaps it is the obvious dishonesty that is the most egregious on this record. The track "Mom" for example should be a nice homage to Trainor's mother and all the other moms out there but instead it comes across like a clear cash grab hoping mothers and daughters alike will listen to their new favorite song together. There is little cohesion as the album bounces from genre to genre song to song never really grounding the music in anything. The are plenty of bombastic booty shaking anthems here, but surface level does not even begin to describe these tracks, they simply have zero energy or anything but writing by committee written all over them. Also 15 tracks of this garbage on the Deluxe edition is damn near obscene, this could have been something tight and concise, but with four singles released before the album even came out the industry's plan for Meghan is quite clear. This stuff is base level even for the teenage girls it's directed at. Not a good record based both on the music and the way it assumes it's audience is stupid enough just to drink it down.

2.0 out of 10