Now that Carly Rae Jepsen has released Dedicated Side B, it's time to officially look back on an era that started way back in November 2018 with Party For One.
28. Let's Be Friends
Let's be friends and never speak again. It was a cute middle child of Side A and Side B but we're done with it now.
27. Right Words Right Time
Dedicated's songs all had a weightlessness to it. Right Words Right Time is the only one that's effected by gravity.
26. Heartbeat
Beautifully produced and sung but it has a difficult job maintaining attention when it's surrounded by instantaneous sugar rushes.
25. Feels Right
Feels Right came to do what it needed to do. It feels like a short, sharp burst of joy but it's never risen to the top of the bunch for us.
24. Automatically In Love
These verses glide with so much ease it's hard to believe Jeppo is human. A simple, understated moment from Dedicated.
23. This Is What They Say
Nobody captures that giddy, reckless feeling of falling in love better than Jeppo and here she gives it to you straight - "this is what they say falling in love is supposed to feel like."
22. Let's Sort The Whole Thing Out
This is Dedicated Side B's store. The lyrics are so on the nose that it's almost unbearable but something about Jeppo's delivery makes not only bearable but endearing.
21. Felt This Way
The verses of this song are like a warm summer breeze. Sometimes her melodies are so soft it feels like they've been scientifically crafted to make you feel gooey.
20. The Sound
See the above. The Sound is Felt This Way's slightly better twin.
19. Fake Mona Lisa
Fake Mona Lisa could've sat on E.MO.TION. It's that sharp, short burst of pop energy that Dedicated Side A was missing and it feels good to have it back.
18. Window
Jeppo clearly found the funk on Dedicated and she wields it out here once again. Window is a jangly, quirky moment that moves at its own pace.
17. Everything He Needs
Jeppo tapped into Giorgio Moroder's songbook and delivered a disco moment that's as good as anything on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. There we said it.
16. Happy Not Knowing
When Jeppo starts singing on the first beat you know it's going to be good. We were sold on Happy Not Knowing before we'd even heard the first chorus.
15. For Sure
Where E.MO.TION hooked you immediately, Dedicated took a little longer to lure you into its world. It's because of moments like this that slowly built euphoric climaxes. For Sure's impact lingers with you, from that glassy percussion to those thick synths.
14. Stay Away
Sampling part of the previous song Felt This Way, Stay Away turns up the tempo and gets hot under the cover. It's the horniest song of Side B and it's magnetic.
13. No Drug Like Me
No Drug Like Me was released alongside Now That I Found You and while the latter bounces higher, the former stays in the air longer. It's a woozy, love-drunk piece of funk.
12. Summer Love
The funk/rock and disco-influences of the Dedicated era were unexpected but they provided a new, psychedelic dimension to Jeppo's work. This one builds a luscious world that foregoes immediate hooks for longer-lasting feelings.
11. I'll Be Your Girl
As mentioned above, this is another funk/rock hybrid that would've sounded strange for Jeppo outside of the Dedicated world. I'll Be Your Girls holds nothing back giving us punchy hooks, rumbling horns and rollicking drums.
10. Now I Don't Hate California At All
Jeppo made the best Beach House song of 2020.
9. Comeback
Jack Antonoff and Jeppo create gold. Never have we heard them quite so moody. Comeback may be the best Jeppo ballad since All That, coupling self-empowerment with heartbreak in a delicate, inspired way.
8. Now That I Found You
Some fans wanted that sharp, crisp pop that Jeppo birthed on E.MO.TION and while they didn't exactly get that, Now That I Found You was for them. It bounds with innocent euphoria, crafted for a head rush.
7. Solo
While Jeppo loves a love song, it seems they're always intended to be danced to alone. Solo takes that concept and makes it obvious as she sings, "You shine bright by yourself dancing solo." An isolation anthem, clearly.
6. Julien
Jeppo's joy can often feel juvenile. It's not an insult, it's a compliment and the reason why many of her songs are so instantly endearing. Julien, however, is grown. It's a sleek, mature disco cut that manifests love under a disco ball.
5. Party For One
As we mentioned with Solo, Jeppo loves a boogie by herself. Party For One is the moment you stop trying to figure everything out and go, "fuck it." It's unresolved but it's a momentary burst of joy that feels so good.
4. This Love Isn't Crazy
This is for those who thought Dedicated was missing its Runaway With Me. It's all there - the euphoric howl, the pounding bass, the hands-in-the-air bridge. We've written to Webster and let them know that this is the new definition of joy.
3. Real Love
Jeppo's E.MO.TION was important because it came at a time when pop got really serious. Some of it justified, some of it not but E.MO.TION felt like a breath of fresh air. It was a chance to pull yourself out of the world for a moment. Real Love captures that feeling better than nearly all her songs. "The world is going crazy and it feels like I just don't know who to trust sometimes," she sings, defeated, but by the chorus she's back up screaming, "Real, REAL, REALLLLL LOVE." Once again, we've been plucked from the world.
2. Too Much
When someone has made a career of pop gluttony, how do they then write a song analysing the way they live in excess? Jeppo pops on a saccharine beat and takes it to the dancefloor. "Now I'm dancing and I'm dancing too much," she sings before warning, "If I love you then I love you too much." She's not changing but you're going to have to accept it. Can we just say, living in a world where Jeppo traded in subtlety would be hell.
1. Want You In My Room
Speaking off too much, Jeppo is at her absolute best when she's holding nothing back. Want You In My Room, with the help of Antonoff, does exactly that. She shouts, stomps, grinds and rattles as she works her way through an unabashed, horny pop moment. It's never stopped making us feel good which means it's an impossible piece of candy.
