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A Review of Charlie Puth’s “Charlie”

Ever since 2018’s Voicenotes, Charlie Puth has been MIA in the music industry.

While he would release the occasional single and frequently collaborate with other artists (most notably appearing on Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope”), he has not released much of his own music. This has changed over the past few months.

Throughout the past year, Puth has been teasing new music on various Tik Toks, all of which show him building the song, starting with the drums, bass, keys and of course, his iconic vocals.

All these Tik Toks culminated on Oct. 7 when Puth released his third studio album, simply titled Charlie. Puth further hyped the record by releasing six singles prior to its release. At 12 tracks, half the album was released before the official date.

While not explicitly a concept album, Charlie features repeated themes of heartbreak, broken relationships and running back to those same toxic people.

The album opener, “That’s Hilarious,” talks about a woman who did not seem to want Puth while she was in a relationship with him, but wants him back now the relationship is over. Puth delivers the lyrics in a tongue-and-cheek manner with a slight feeling of aggression, making for a fantastic opening track.

“Light Switch” is notable for being the first single released from the album and is arguably the most popular thanks to its Tik Tok presence. However, this oversaturation may not be a good thing for the song, as it is one of my least favorites from the album. While it is a great song in terms of production and melody, since it was so overplayed when it first came out, I would be fine never hearing the song again.

“Smells Like Me” is another fantastic track. The song has a poppy R&B feel to it and Puth delivers the lyrics beautifully. This album is one of Puth’s most melodic and it shows with this song.

“Left and Right” is notable for being the only collaboration on this record, as Puth brings in Jungkook of BTS. Released as the album’s third single, it is very catchy and poppy, featuring some fantastic production aspects, like panning the vocals from left to right.

The album closes with the one-two punch of “I Don’t Think That I Like Her” and “No More Drama.” Lyrically, it is a relatively depressing close to the album as Puth almost gives up on love in favor of being drama free.

The former track is a fantastic recap of the album’s lyrical themes as Puth sings about breaking up with a girl but then falling for another. This repeats the cycle of moving too quickly into relationships and getting hurt in the process. This track, along with “Smells Like Me,” is one of my personal favorites on the album, especially because of the melodic delivery.

“No More Drama” serves as an encore of sorts, but also puts a final stamp on the album’s themes as Puth sings, “I’m so glad I realized/I’m better without you.” Musically, the song consists of very poppy instrumentation and melodies reminiscent of Maroon 5.

Charlie is without a doubt Puth’s best album so far. Each song is beautifully produced, and the melodies held within are more complex than either of his previous albums. Additionally, it is a unique record because Puth involved his fans in the album’s recording process through Tik Tok, showing them exactly what was going through his head as he recorded the music. 

At slightly over 30 minutes, Charlie is an easy listen for your daily commute. Additionally, it is insanely consistent in sound and tone, but not to the point where any of the songs sound repetitive. Out of 10 stars, Charlie is an 8.5 record.

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