React: Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe)

It's imperfect for me.

The last full album I listened to from Ariana Grande was nearly eight years ago with Dangerous Woman and I really do like that album. My Everything was equally as great. But for whatever reason, I fell off the Ariana train since then.

Yet here I am. After seeing many people praise this album on social channels, I decided to give eternal sunshine a shot.

But without further ado, here’s my reaction to Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe).

intro (end of the world)

Before I even start listening to the track, can we talk about the title? Yeah sure, it’s an intro track, but end of the world seems to indicate loom and gloom, maybe? I don’t know, it peeked my interest, to say the least.

I don’t want to start the reaction off with a bummer, but whoever produced this first track really left Ariana’s vocals alone. Lots of sibilance in the vocals, with it being harsh at times. Otherwise, the vocals are fantastic. I just wish the vocals were produced a little bit more.

I’m loving the R&B/soul vibes here. It’s a very vocal centric track (as it should, her vocals here are once again, great). The bass is very thin and low in the mix, followed by effectively the rest of the instrumentation. You have Ariana’s main vocals front and center and her backing vocals panned to both channels, taking command there as well.

It’s a great first track to the album and makes me excited for what’s to come.

bye

Damn, those vocal chops right at the start. If she had 99 problems, vocals would not be one. Just wow.

This track is a vibe. It’s a song I could see myself getting up and dancing to. Those synth stabs combined with the plucked guitars give off spy movie vibes.

The hi-hat and percussion patterns in the chorus are chef’s kiss. So much information and detail there panned and split into both channels. Lots of layering. The second verse adds a grand piano on top of the synths. Really blending it all in together.

Overall, this track gives me R&B meets dance-pop, and I’m all here for it.

don’t wanna break up again

Oooooh, that beat. It’s already got me bopping my head. I’m in love with whatever they used for that snare. And as much as I love the drum beat for this track, I think the bass absolutely carries it. The drums fill in the pockets that the bass leaves behind.

Vocally, I love the vocal harmonies and ad-libs in the first chorus. The high-pass filter during the second pre-chorus is great. Stripping away all the highs and most of the mids, leaving just the bass and a pocket of lower mids is fantastic. (And it happens in the bridge, going into the final chorus as well!)

More than anything, I really love the production of this track. Everything just comes together beautifully.

Saturn Returns Interlude

I wasn’t really expecting an interlude three tracks in, but it’s not my album. I’m guessing there’s more to this story in the next track. (Sorry, there’s not much too react to here.)

eternal sunshine

Y’all know how I feel about title tracks. They’re a make or break for me. A great title track usually indicates that I’ll really love an album. If not, I’m in for a bumpy ride, I’m afraid. Though, I have a good feeling about this one given the first few tracks.

Yeah, I was right. Right away, it seems like we’re switching away from R&B mixed in with dance-pop to R&B with a bit of soul/hip-hop influence. That’s very obvious in the 808s and bassier (I don’t care if that’s not a real word, that’s the best descriptor for it) kick drum. You also have the rapid kick drum kicking (sorry, had to) every eight bars or so, taking the place of snare fills.

Definitely a vibe track. I’m finding myself bopping my head to it. Check. I’m also a fan of the way this song ends. Stripping back each instrument one by one, only to have her vocal right at the end.

supernatural

Thank you Roon lyrics. I wasn’t sure if I was hearing a heavily modified instrument or a vocal at the beginning. (Spoiler: it’s a vocal with an effect added. She’s singing, This loves’ possession’ me, but I don’t mind at all 2x.)

Well... if I would’ve just listened for another 30 seconds or so, that would’ve been obvious. She repeats this line again in the chorus but with her actual vocal layered on top.

Unfortunately, for me, this is the only defining feature of this track. The rest of the track is rather bland and uninteresting. Sorry, not sorry.

true story

Again with those vocals at the beginning of the track. Ariana knows her vocal carries a track and she’s using it to her advantage. That synth bass is killer. Great combo. It blends with that super funky drum kit.

This track is the full package. I love the instrumentation and both the vocal and backing vocals are excellent. It kept me engaged throughout the two minute and 43 second duration of the track. It’s one of those songs both lyrical and instrumentation listeners will enjoy.

And that outro? You already know what I’m gonna say.

No notes, in the best way possible. Great track all around.

the boy is mine

Immediate add to library. I’m only 23 seconds into the track. I feel like I don’t need to listen to the rest. It’s so good. The intro of this track takes me back to the late 90s (aka, my early childhood). Also, full disclosure, I restarted this song half a dozen times. I think it’s going to be my favorite track on this album.

The vocal pattern in the first verse got me. It has a soothing nursery rhyme vibe to it (7 rings, anyone?). Combine that with the deeper synth that blends so well with the kick drum and you have a winning combo.

Of course, this track passes the vibe check. Banger of a track. Was bopping my head the entire time.

yes, and?

It’s the album’s only single. And for once, I haven’t actually heard it in full. The most I’ve heard is about the first 10 seconds of the track and that was on accident.

I get why this was the choice for the single for this album. Despite that, it’s easily my least favorite track on the album. It’s the first track on the album where I think the music overtook Ariana’s voice. And as I’ve mentioned before, Ariana’s voice is the meat of this album.

This track is the antithesis of that. It’s trying to make the music the star of the show and Ariana’s vocal suffers.

we can’t be friends (wait for your love)

Right off the start, I love the distant drum sound. To me, it sounds like you’re a couple hundred feet outside of a club.

I think this might be the section of the album where I feel lukewarm about. It’s now the second track in a row where I’m not really feeling it. However, unlike yes, and?, I feel like this one could turn around for me later on.

i wish i hated you

Oh hey, a ballad. This is the first time on the album I’ve genuinely felt emotional. It’s contemporary, yet modern in the sense that it uses a synth as the backbone of the track rather than piano or strings.

Again, Ariana’s vocals are the star of the show. That’s exemplified here with the relatively basic instrumentation.

Lyrically, my heart breaks for Ariana. She’s so in love with someone that’s clearly a shitty person. Yet, her love for them is strong, and is ignoring all the warning signs—the red flags.

imperfect for you

Love the filtered guitar. It sounds like an electric guitar maybe?

This is my kind of song. Acoustic, yet pop-ish. You blend that guitar in with the heavy bass and electric drum kit. The best way to describe it is a melodramatic pop ballad.

I’m reacting via headphones but I’d imagine this song would play beautifully on my home speaker setup with my subwoofer. It’s got that sub-bass that you can’t really appreciate with just headphones.

I hate to call it early but this is up there in terms of favorite tracks on the album. It’s right up my alley.

ordinary things

Ending the main album with a banger, it seems. Very upbeat instrumentation.

I want to start off with the lyrics on this one. It sounds like Ariana is on the upswing and is coming to the understanding that no matter who she’s with, she can’t have an "ordinary" relationship. People always have eyes on her.

That single note synth is great. It’s fun and adds an extra layer to the synths on this track.

And the ending is beautiful, with a sample of Ariana’s grandmother, Marjorie Grande.

supernatural (featuring Troye Sivan)

I’m sure I’m gonna get grilled for this, but this is my first introduction to Troye Sivan. Let’s see if he can get me to love this track.

I’d say so. Troye’s vocals blend really well with Ariana here on this track. The one thing I loved about the original track is elevated with the addition of Troye’s vocal.

I take back everything I said earlier. This track is fantastic. That’s it.

Now it’s time to listen to Troye Sivan’s latest album, I think. If this track is any indication of his type of music, I’m in for a good time.

imperfect for you (acoustic)

Okay, one of my favorite tracks on the album but acoustic? Yes, please.

It’s everything I loved about the original track but stripped back. You also get the addition to what I think are castanets that aren’t in the original version of the song. It gives the song a little more width and a sense of spaciousness (even with the stereo mix).

With a heavier focus on Ariana’s vocals, I feel that the acoustic version is more emotional and raw. I can really feel the passion in her vocals.

true story (a capella)

There’s not much to say here. I’ve loved Ariana’s vocals throughout the entire album and this is Ariana’s raw vocals on true story.

My only real complaint is that I wish she would’ve released her true unedited vocals. It would’ve been nice to hear her raw vocal without the reverb and backing vocals.

yes, and? (featuring Mariah Carey)

You know the drill. I wasn’t in love with the song originally. Let’s see if a duet with Mariah Carey can convince me otherwise.

Sorry, it didn’t do it for me. yes, and? is easily my least favorite track on the album. No disrespect to either of them. This song just didn’t land for me.

Conclusion

I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s not like I’ve ignored Ariana the last few years. I’ve genuinely tried to listen to her more recent releases. They just weren’t for me. (Though, the singles from thank u, next were excellent!)

I honestly completely forgot this album was coming out until social media reminded me the night before. But I’m glad they did remind me because there’s so much going for this album. It’s a genuinely great album.

eternal sunshine reminded me how good Ariana Grande’s vocals are. I’ve been listening to her music for well over a decade and this is the first album where I think Ariana lets her voice be the star of the show.

I don’t typically rate albums based on my first reactions, but I would give eternal sunshine a solid 8.5 out of 10. Now, I need to decide which variant I’m picking up on vinyl.

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Note: This album reaction was written after listening to eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe) by Ariana Grande on Tidal with a Hi-Fi Plus subscription via Roon (24-bit, 48 kHz).