Published by Mason Oldridge, 25 June 2024
Camila Cabello trades in the Latin influences of her previous release for a more R&B approach on her new album C,XOXO, presumably named after her signature.
This fourth record is a tale of two sides: the poorer R&B tracks and the stronger pop songs. Cabello similarly balanced two genres on her previous album Familia, which also saw the pop offerings come out on top. However, this time the negative aspects outweigh the few delights.
For the most part, the album contains messy R&B tunes, often with damaging collaborations from artists of the genre, such as Playboi Carti, Lil Nas X and Drake.
However, there are a few stripped back and cleaner tracks that show Cabello’s talent still exists. Twentysomethings is dreamy and features acoustic guitar, B.O.A.T. is a calmer piano song, Pretty When I Cry sounds like a dance hit and June Gloom is a gentle closer nicely contrasted with some funky electronic sounds.
Cabello is a unique and talented artist, making it a shame to see the route this album has taken. There’s still potential left, providing she thinks carefully about which genres to explore next!
4/10