Album Reflection: Positions
Some albums deserve to be given extra time to soak in. In the three weeks since its release, I have made every effort to give Positions a thorough and fair listen. While the first track politely asks critics to “shut up”, here’s my take on Ariana Grande’s latest album:
The last two projects from Ariana Grande have been fantastic on their own merit, but they were particularly striking given the challenging two years in which they were created. No one would have faulted Ariana for taking a several-year hiatus, but instead, she chose to make lemonade out of lemons. Now that her life has mellowed out, at least in comparison to the chaotic state that the world has plunged into, it seems fitting that Positions would be filled with laid back melodies and beautiful layers of strings.
The aforementioned opening track showcases the most beautiful way to tell someone off, with Ariana’s “maybe you should shut up” bouncing against some staccato strings. It is a sparkling and self-assured start to the album, ensuring every listener knows that she is happy with the album she has delivered.
From this point forward, it is clear that this project not a product of pain or desire to please anyone, but an overview of Ariana’s current life. With most tracks being under three minutes, drowned in either sultry or all-out sexual lyrics, Ariana gives her most positive yet mid-tempo tracklist so far in her career.
“34 + 35”s candid and high sexualized lyrics are as entertaining as they are blush-inducing. Here the pop-R&B mix Ariana has previously dipped her toes into is all out on display as she asks her lover to, “stay up all night.” Its sister track in theme and quality appears later in the form of “nasty”. Another song like “obvious” echoes a similar sensual pop-R&B-trap concoction that Ariana has mastered (or as I will discuss later—worn out). While the theme of sex is not new to Ariana or the genres she is pulling from, it is still refreshing to hear the honesty she employs, even if the lyrics fail to reach much depth.
Tracks like “six thirty” or “west side” do nothing wrong but also fall deeper into the safe formula Ariana constructed with Thank u, next without any particular innovation. Her collaboration with The Weekend is an emotional take where Arina wonders if she’ll “ever love somebody like the way I did you,” Beautifully arranged and sultry, it is an adequate follow up to their previous collaboration “Love Me Harder”. Similarly, the title track is neither a showstopper nor Ariana’s most interesting lead single, but it remains a fun track to return to now and then (with a promptly themed music video.)
In this way, Positions never falters completely, displaying a diverse breadth of catchy songs. Ari’s vocals are crisp, layered, and as stunning as ever. The long-awaited Doja Cat collaboration “motive”, as well as the quirky “love language”, are fun changes of pace. The latter continuing the lavish use of strings throughout the project.
Moments like “my hair” are even more invigorating as Ariana trends towards a jazzier sound, with whistle notes that stop you in your tracks without feeling showboating. “safety net” is without a doubt one of the most notable moments of the record, and Ty Dolla $ign’s performance that pulls the track together (as have his other recent features). While “pov” does not hit a climax as high as other of Ariana’s closers, it’s a sublime track with some of Ariana’s most endearing lyricism.
In retrospect, Positions should not be all that surprising. Ariana’s work for the Charlie’s Angels reboot soundtrack was a solid ‘okay’, and she has not taken a substantial break from music in recent memory to allow for a great shift in her sound. Notably, the songwriting team that helped Ariana craft Thank u, next is almost entirely back for this project.
The saying, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” appears apt for Ariana’s approach to this album. It is consistently straightforward, honest, and filled with some of Arina’s most well-crafted harmonies. Fans will rightly enjoy hearing that she is moving on from the pain of the last several years, and casual listeners can find something to return to now and again. Suffice to say, there’s not really a sure skip on the record, but at the same time, it is all too easy for none of the songs to be particularly memorable. To a certain extent, it feels harsh to critique something as harmless and personal as this record. Regardless, for all that Positions does right, it still manages to never quite move Ariana forward as her previous projects have, and in a time when the world is changing so drastically, it is hard to not notice when things stay the same.
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