Meghan Trainor’s newest album definitely “made us look.” However, its repetitiveness and clichés are hard to ignore if you are a long-time fan like me. 

Trainor took the world by storm in 2014 with her hit song “All About That Bass.” Since then, her career launched with other smash hits like “Dear Future Husband,” “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” and “Me Too.” 

Meghan has always implemented an a capella and doo-wop sound into her songs. She gets much of her influence from the 1950s and 1960s that can especially be heard through her layered backing vocals.

“TAKIN’ IT BACK” was released on Friday, Oct. 21, the same day as Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” and Carly Rae Jepsen’s “The Loneliest Time” album releases. 

While one of Trainor’s songs has already gone viral, the album probably does not receive the same amount of attention as these other two artists’ releases. 

I have been a Meghan Trainor fan for about seven years because she uses her music to express themes about self-love. All of her albums bring out the confident side of me and puts me in a better mood when I feel self-conscious. 

Before I hit play, I knew that this album would sound different because she is now a mom to a 1-year-old boy. I had a feeling that the themes would be more simplistic — perhaps to make it understandable for her son to listen to as he grows up.

The “TAKIN’ IT BACK” album has its strengths and weaknesses, but I would not get your hopes too high. 

The album starts with an a cappella song titled “Sensitive” featuring Scott Hoying from Pentatonix. It’s a slow start to the record and the three-minute song feels like 13 minutes. Not only this, but Scott is only used in background vocals as a bass and tenor. I wish he would have had a few lines as a solo because he is an incredible vocalist, and it is a waste to feature him only in the background.

Despite this mediocre start, it then jumps into the TikTok viral hit “Made You Look.” This is easily one of the best songs on the album. It is upbeat, catchy, danceable and all-together a feel-good song. 

The song reminds me of the 1960s. With its influence in the drumbeat, heavy use of horns and backing vocals, it is a song that feels familiar and pleasant to listen to.

Another great song is “Don’t I Make It Look Easy.” On first listen, I wondered why it sounded so familiar, but I soon noticed that the bassline is exactly like Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me.”

Immediately following is a song that has me “Shook.” It’s incredibly catchy, bass-heavy and has a memorable slow breakdown that throws a curveball into the song. I can imagine this being a hit on TikTok, similarly to “Made You Look.”

Trainor does an amazing job at creating music that encourages confidence, self-love and overall happiness. However, I do not think her slower songs have as big of an impact.

Track 6, titled “Bad For Me,” is the second slow song we hear on the album. It is done relatively well in popularity, but I cannot help but notice a striking resemblance to her song “After You” from her 2020 album “TREAT MYSELF.”

The vocal cadence between these two choruses is very similar, from the number of syllables in each line to the melody. Her slower songs have stayed relatively static throughout the years. I even went back to listen to slow songs in her past albums and did not notice any significant change in sound from 2014 to 2022.  

Overall, this is by no means a bad album, but it is not particularly a standout either. Trainor certainly knows how to hype up her listeners, and it is clear that her upbeat tunes grab the attention of TikTok users and other platforms. 

In the meantime, I’ll keep some of the songs from this album in my playlist, but I’ll always find myself tuning into her old music for some high school nostalgia.  

“TAKIN’ IT BACK” is available to stream on any music platform or by purchasing the CD exclusively at Target.

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