Kiss

Carly Rae Jepsen | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: September 18, 2012
• Release Date: September 18, 2012
• Label: Schoolboy/Interscope Records
• Copyright: (C) 2012 School Boy/Interscope Records
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 42:26
• Genres:
  • Pop
• ASIN: B009738XXM
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (150 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,530 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 81 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Buy It Maybe September 18, 2012

By Rudy Palma

Format:Audio CD

With its unembarrassed set of slick pop confections, Carly Rae Jepsen's "Kiss" - her major label debut and second full-length - hearkens back to those Mandy Moore-Jessica Simpson days of the early 2000s.

Heavily padded with classy, agreeable filler - light on memorable hooks, heavy on high fructose corn syrup - "Kiss" is certainly frontloaded with its strongest tracks, none of which come close to the relentless appeal of summer 2012 chart blaster "Call Me Maybe." Still, listeners craving guilty pleasure pop have some lollipops to suck on until the next Britney or Kylie record.

Her breathy, professional performances almost make anonymous hi-BPM dance tunes such as "Turn Me Up" and "Hurt So Good" sound memorable. In fact, her cooing, confident vocals are consistently her biggest asset, turning even the album's weakest moments into boldly executed excurions which, in spite of themselves, are far from faceless.

"This Kiss" sounds like a hit from one of Britney's first records, complete with sugary, swirling, vanilla-coated beats - Jepsen makes it clear from the outset that this is music made for fun's sake, with no deep feelings in sight. The comparatively thoughtful "More Than a Memory," for instance, still surfs on dance floor-ready waves.

These tunes are designed purely to make listeners forget their troubles. "Tonight I'm Getting Over You," a pulsing slice of Eurodance, is the most exemplary:

"No more crying to get me through," she sings over the track. "I'll keep dancing 'til the morning with somebody new."

"Kiss" is a typical pop album with one very strong single, several other juicy tunes and many album tracks that are both listenable and rather unmemorable. It leaves improvement for Jepsen's future releases and illuminates the niche she intends to fill. Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only when you look at reviews submitted by others. Permalink

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Formulaic; Some Distinct Moments, Some Less Distinct Moments September 22, 2012

By Michael Brent Faulkner, Jr. VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

"Call Me Maybe" is the highlight of Canadian Idol contestant Carly Rae Jepsen's U.S. debut Kiss. While successive singles "Good Time" featuring Owl City and "This Kiss" are solid, they are less impressive than the aforementioned juggernaut. Overall, Kiss is an average affair that suits is purpose as an album of `records' but nothing more. Some cuts are more distinct or notable than others, but most use the same blueprint, which underwrites Kiss as an entire entity.

"Tiny Little Bows," produced by Dallas Austin and Cory Enemy, yields a solid neo-disco sound. Catchy, the chorus highlights as Jepsen sings "How do you think it goes/with those tiny little bows/you're the one I want/you're the one I know/and everywhere you are/is a place I wanna go..." "This Kiss," produced by Redfoo (of LFMAO) and Matthew Koma, is slightly more distinct despite similarities to the opener. Sound proves more important than Jepsen's voice ultimately, with the chorus again being a highlight.

"This Kiss" certainly does not outperform "Call Me Maybe," which eclipses everything. Josh Ramsay produces/co-writes the `big-time hit' every artists wishes they could land. The refrain is easily memorable: "Hey just met you/and this is crazy/but here's my number/so call me maybe/it's hard to look right/at you baby/but here's my number/so call me maybe..." Locked into the neo-disco sound and confirmed by those lovely signature disco string swirls, "Call Me Maybe" is `larger than life'

"Curiosity" isn't incredibly distinct, particularly since it follows up the `queen' of the effort. The biggest flaw is an odd key change which isn't smooth in the least. While it is meant to intensify, it just comes off as clunky. "Good Time," featuring Owl City atones, yielding one of the highlights of the effort. The production is solid, notable for its synths and rhythmic components. "Good Time" is incredibly `schmaltzy' to the chagrin of more edgy-pop enthusiast, but to its credit, the songwriting structure itself is sound. The chorus is by no means intelligible, but then many aren't these days right? "Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh/who-oh-oh/it's always a good time..." Definitely not Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen songwriting.

"More Than A Memory" seems to recycle ideas more than revolutionize. Jepsen's lower register rears its head on the verses, though her upper register, `teenage-like' vocals are more desirable. "Turn Me Up" atones, even if it just `tweaks' the formula that predominates the album. Hand it to Jepsen to deliver a catchy chorus: "I'm breakin' up with you/you're breakin' up on me/You kiss me on the phone/And I don't think it reaches/What am I to do/And how's it gonna because breakin' us in two/is breakin' me in pieces/breakin' up with you..." Every Jepsen song referencing `calling' seems to be effective.

"Hurt So Good" has its catchy moments, but is ultimately not memorable. "Beautiful," co-written by Toby Gad and Justin Bieber provides a welcome change of pace that features accompanying acoustic guitar. The results still underwhelm somewhat, even when both vocalists combine forces. "Beautiful" comes off `too light' with not enough `punch.'
"Tonight I'm Getting Over You" punches, with Max Martin producing; the songwriting credits are lofty here. Josh Ramsey produces "Guitar String/Wedding Ring", with less notable results than his brilliant "Call Me Maybe." "Your Heart Is a Muscle" nearly works, but still lacks that extra `oomph.' Toby Gad's second production falls short like her first one (the Bieber/Jepsen duet "Beautiful). But listeners who are science enthusiasts will be glad to learn `your heart is a muscle.'

Overall, Kiss yields some potential radio hits, but as a album, it is nothing more than average. The main issue lies in the fact that the same formula is used for almost every cut, which makes all the cuts seem less distinct than they should be. 3 stars.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars upbeat and fun albulm October 13, 2012

By noszero

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't buy much music like this. I mostly listen to hard rock but this one had a catchy sound so I grabbed it. I'm not gonna go on and on here. If you like call me maybe then buy it. I liked all the songs and will bet you were gonna here a few on the radio because this girl is good.