Love is a complicated concept that comes with a mix of a ton of other emotions. In Alessia Cara’s Love and Hyperbole, the listener gets to experience her own journey through all kinds of love, including, romantic, friendly, and even self-love. Set with a blissful undertone and even a collaboration with John Mayer in eighth track, (Isn’t it) Obvious, Cara has succeeded at creating audible art once again.
Rocking in nearly 4.5 million streams thus far, Dead Man has to be one of the catchiest tracks I’ve heard from Cara in a while. The way the melodies are overlapped and pieced together is clever work paired alongside the sarcastically playful lyrics. “If you’re really there/ Then why can I walk right through you?/ Talking to a dean man,” shows the perspective of someone that is finally taking a stand for themselves in a relationship where they feel belittled and disrespected. Sometimes, love means doing what is best for oneself, even if that means taking a risk by leaving the one they are with.
A song that has not earned its fair share of streams on this album is Clearly. Before giving it a listen, looking at the title alone, I knew the audience had something sweet and optimistic in store when it came to this track. Maybe it’s my obsession with I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash, or even Clearly by Grace Vanderwaal, but I was manifesting this to be a charming track the second it caught my eye. Turns out this is indeed a lovely work of lyrics, where one truthfully expresses to their partner how far they have come in their relationship. The chorus kicks up perfectly in sync with the words “I feel the ocean between us closing in/ Now we’re closer and I see the fences mending slowly.”
A track I could have personally lived without would be Left Alone. The elegant melody paired with Cara’s whispery tone is soothing to the ear, however as someone who is more lyrically inclined, the message of knowing it is time to move on from someone has a tenfold effect in Dead Man. This is because Dead Man had a much colder, and compact delivery, which is likely what got the fans to stream that track the most. Both of these are songs that I would listen to, but Left Alone is simply not top tier for me.
An anthem that did strike a chord with me was Go Outside, because of its immense relatability. This is the perfect Gen Z song that captures that feeling everyone tends to get that comes with the inevitable “scrolling syndrome,” or classic loafing. It is hilarious how Cara was able to so effortlessly bring this feeling into such a laid back, light melody, that I think was my sign to go out and touch some grass.
This album is a beautiful reflection of how sometimes we need to exaggerate our feelings in order to feel more at peace, and come to that final stage of grief, acceptance. Though it’s different from my regular cup of tea, this album is the perfect vibe I look for when getting ready each morning to put me in a good mood for the day. I give Love & Hyperbole 3.5 out of 5 stars.
