petal

Both Eternal Sunshine and the expanded Brighter Days Ahead were ornate and meticulously crafted, but the kick of Petal is that it’s much more loose and spontaneous. She’s shooting from the hip, both musically and emotionally. .... And that attitude brings out Ariana Grande at her best.

Petal is the kind of album you have to lean into to pick through the subtle sonic details, and unravel the lyrics and emotions, with each play bringing the songs into closer focus. But as ever with Grande, the singing is worth the price of admission alone. I am not sure it is what she intended, but Grande’s tiny temper tantrum is actually kind of lovely.

Petal is an album of quiet, controlled, vetted anger; there’s no rush of blood to the head. Maybe it’s because Grande is rehashing familiar topics – it’s far from the first time she’s dissected fame, romance or self-worth in her music – that she sounds numb to it, tired of treading the same ground.

While her new album, Petal, is a moody, bittersweet exploration of her relationship to the limelight that shows flashes of incisiveness, it ultimately can’t overcome its self-imposed limitations.

["Eternal Sunshine"] was a work of sharp craftsmanship and tonal variety, but “Petal” feels murky and monochrome in comparison. As usual, Grande’s vocals are lovely and impressively arranged; she can still sing circles, squares and curlicues around most A-list pop stars. But the material here is mostly a morass of sluggish tempos that lacks the charisma and conviction of her best work.