Mixtapemotions

Charlie, the third record from Charlie Puth, tells pretty much the same story as the previous two Charlie Puth records: the tales of being unlucky in love. The twelve tracks on the album come from a place of heartbreak, being used, and nostalgia for a good time in love. Musically, most of the songs are saccharine pop with Puth’s somewhat funk-inspired falsetto. Every record Puth has released has steadily raised in critical reception. Charlie holds an 81% on Metacritic; his debut, Nine Track Mind, holds a 37%. Today we’ll look at the tracks that make up Charlie. I am surprised at the difference in critical reception between the albums. Personally, I think that while his first albums lack maturity, the albums have more variety than the third record as we’ll see in more detail.

1. “That’s Hilarious” kicks off the album with a heartbreak. Similar to Third Eye Blind’s break-up hit “Losing a Whole Year,” Puth laments “You took away a year / Of my fuckin’ life.” The song is ironic in that nothing is actually hilarious unless Charlie is talking about the tears his ex cries when she thinks about him. The music video shows Charlie on the verge of a mental break.

2. “Charlie Be Quiet!” is a song about not revealing feelings too soon. In Puth’s songwriting, there are so many examples of heartbreak, so today’s song finds the singer shielding his feelings to not ruin a potential relationship. 

3. “Light Switch” is the stand-out track of the album. As much as I’ve listened to Charlie, I feel that all of the tracks are trying to be this version of Puth. It’s musically the best the album gets.

4. “There’s a First Time for Everything” finds Charlie missing an ex. Most of the songs are about Charlie being missed, but “There is a first time” for him missing his ex. The song starts out with ‘80s synth pop potential and the storytelling lyrics should set a scene, but Puth’s fast delivery fails to deliver an appropriate feeling. Like many of the songs on the album, the intro is the best part.

5. “Smells Like Me” is a revenge song. The speaker hopes that his love still wears his jacket even when she kisses her new love. The guitar and synth in this song accomplish a retro sound more than the previous one, but Puth’s unmistakable voice and stutter make the song solidly a 2020s song.

6. “Left and Right” is another example of a pop singer leeching onto BTS to get a higher chart position. The song is the highest-charting song from the album. The song is catchy but very simple.

7. “Loser” Loser = lose her. I’m getting sick of this album after hearing Puth saying the quiet part out loud.

8. “When You’re Sad I’m Sad” The lack of comma in the title makes me hate this song more than I should. I think lyrically it’s pretty good, but the composition is too simple. I’d love to hear a band like Copeland reinterpret this one.

9. ““Marks on My Neck.”I never got hickeys. I don’t get how it’s a mark of pride. It seems animalistic, like how cats mate.  The symbolism of the song is pretty straightforward. 

10. “Tears on My Piano” is one of the more interesting tones on the album with ‘90s harmonies. The song is partly inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Teardrops on My Guitar” and last month it was the basis for my Apple Music version of my Rain playlist. The song stands out more for its guitar riff than its piano parts. This is one of the ways that Puth could have done to make the album more dynamic.

11. “I Don’t Think That I Like Her” is another storytelling song on the album. But it’s hard to get into these storytelling songs for lack of detail. Is this album about the same girl? Did this girl even exist? There seems to be a lack of feeling in the songs and the music itself is the object.

12. “No More Drama” is the final break-up song on the album. Just as Charlie says goodbye to an ex, he says goodbye to the album. 

As talented as Charlie Puth is, influenced by the great singer-songwriters from the ’70s and ’80s, I hope that he comes out with an album that shows off his talent.