React: girl in red - I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!
It's an album to remember.
There’s a first for everything and this is my first introduction into girl in red. I can confidently say the only girl in red track I’ve ever heard is You Need Me Now? featuring Sabrina Carpenter and that was very recent—within the last month or so. I really loved the vibe and how fun that track was.
With that said, I have no idea what to expect when it comes to girl in red, so this should be a fun reaction.
So without further ado, here’s my reaction to girl in red’s I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!.
I’m Back
Firstly, I’m kind of surprised that not all of the track titles are in all caps given the album title. Actually, the title track is the only track in all caps. Neat.
Probably a really weird comparison but the piano at the beginning of the track reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson’s Main in the Mirror. Maybe a similar chord progression? Not totally sure.
I don’t think I was expecting a "soft" song for the first track on the album. Is she going to make me cry right off the rip? Maybe. It’s a great ballad. I love the line, Life’s so good when you’re light as a feather.
The build is absolutely stunning. Introducing the soft kick and snare/clap followed by a very thin and “flowy” bass line.
I’m not gonna sit here and pretend that I know what this track is referring to lyrically. Because I have no idea. But it’s an absolutely beautiful track and I went full waterworks here.
DOING IT AGAIN BABY
Okay, you know the drill. It’s a title track. The make or break moment. We’re off to a great start already with I’m Back. Hopefully, we can keep the train going.
Okay, stop, stop, STOP. That vocal pattern pulled me in immediately. Wow. I probably don’t need to listen to the rest of the track, but I will. My goodness, that’s great. An instant add to library moment. Combine that with the guitar following the vocal. Chef’s kiss.
The chorus is awesome. Take everything I just said and add a kick drum and a cowbell coming out of the right channel.
I love the not-so-subtle arsonist vibes here. Speaking of vibes, absolutely jamming out to this track. Can’t stop tapping my feet and doing a little dance.
Okay, that banjo combined with the repeated one-liner for the bridge is absolutely killer. I’m obsessed with the fireworks at the end of the bridge, signaling the cross between it and the final chorus. Nice touch.
I was worried about the title track being a flop. Nope. Not even close. LOVE this track. I don’t usually rewind or replay a track during a reaction... but there’s a first for everything, right?
Then you have that repeated one-liner coming back in for the end of the track, but now adding an electric guitar in? I don’t think a perfect song exists, but this track is very close.
Too Much
There’s that piano intro again. Where is this taking me? Is this gonna be another ballad? Sort of.
Oh my god, what does this track remind me of? This drum pattern is reminding me of something but I can’t remember what. (I’ll add a post-edit note if I remember. If not, I’m keeping this line in any way—just so like, you know I was thinking of a song.)
I feel for her. These lyrics caught my attention right away. I toned myself down for you. Volume one, almost mute, I’ll never ignite. You always found a way to bring me down, you trivialized everything. Absolutely heartbreaking.
What an absolute banger of a power ballad. I’m here for it. The waterworks came out on this track again. That seems to be happening a lot with this album and I’m more than okay with that.
Phantom Pain
That distorted guitar though. Given that up until today, the only track I knew was You Need Me Now? I expected more of this type of sound from girl in red. I’m very happy to say that she’s able to pull off very soft and emotional, and hard, head-banger type songs.
I love the rhythmic claps (I suppose all claps are rhythmic, you know what I meant) in the chorus. So far I’m digging the relatively simple composition of the track. Though, I’m sure that’s about to change.
She’s a comedian? Mi amor, mi amor. Je t’aime, I adore… is quite a rhyme (though, I’m sure that’s not the first time that line has been used in a song). It’s stupid but it’s the line I’ll probably end up remembering in the long term. It makes for a great line in the bridge.
The ending of this track is great. Not the typical repetition of the chorus. It’s a build up. It almost feels like the track might lead into the next song. But I know it’s not because I know what the next track is. I love the grittiness in her vocals on these last few lines here.
It’s a fun little rock track. I love it.
You Need Me Now? featuring Sabrina Carpenter
The only girl in red song I’ve heard before today, and you know what? It motivated me to check out more of her music. So I guess in a way, the Sabrina Carpenter feature worked.
Of course, I can’t really react to a track that I’ve already heard before so I’ll just give you my general impressions. At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of the track, but it slowly grew on me. Now, hearing the first four tracks on the album, I’ll say that this track is very different. Maybe You Need Me Now? is the start of the next "section" of the album, where the vibe changes.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I only heard of the track due to the Sabrina Carpenter feature, but I’m glad I stumbled upon it. It’s not her usual style of music, but it fits right in. She only has a verse near the end of the track with some ad-libing on top of girl in red’s vocal. But I’m kind of glad that’s how it played out because it gave me a chance to get a feel for who girl in red is as an artist. Needless to say, it pulled me in and I’m very happy about that.
Then you have the break in the track where I feel both Sabrina and girl in red’s sense of humor comes in. [girl in red] You know what would be really fucking cool on this? Sabrina. Like, if we could get Sabrina on this, oh my God. That-, that would- like, seriously, [Sabrina Carpenter] oh my God, you’re so right. I’m gonna sing now.
This track gave off alt-rock vibes. Especially with the upbeat drum track, distorted guitars, and lightweight bass.
A Night To Remember
I think I’m starting to detect a pattern here. There’s definitely an a/b pattern between upbeat, high energy tracks and ballads. We just came off of a high energy track and now we’re back to what appears to be a ballad.
What a beautiful track. A relatively basic piano progression combined with a soft drum kit and a relatively basic bass structure. I love how soft her singing voice is here. It’s not shouty, but it’s not a soft whisper either. The balance is just right. Her backing vocals are relatively soft as well. They blend in with her voice as opposed to being different octaves.
It’s not a sad song. She’s saying that she didn’t believe before, but she’s making an exception with this relationship because she believes now. Despite all odds, she’s in it now. I don’t believe things are meant to be. But now it doesn’t apply to me. 'Cause you and I are like stars aligned. How sweet.
Pick Me
Are we back to sad? Cause it sounds like it. The grand piano takes center stage almost immediately. I’d almost say it’s an acoustic track. The power of the grand piano on this track cannot be understated. It conveys so much information and I’d argue conveys more information than her vocal.
This one is a crying song, no doubt about it. So, why are you leaving with him? And I guess he’s got something I can’t give. I might be falling apart. I think you know I have been from the start. Absolutely heartbreaking. Seeing your partner/crush leave you for someone else but you can’t for the life you figure out why.
Compositionally, again, it’s that piano overpowering everything else. There’s a small synth that comes and goes out of the right channel and a kick drum and snare.
Pick Me is up there in terms of my favorite tracks on the album I think. It’s such a beautiful song. It makes me feel like I’m going through heartbreak right now (I’m not, thankfully). That says a lot in terms of the emotional power of the track.
Ugly Side
That bass, it’s very heavy and doesn’t quite hit those super low sub-bass notes but it almost sounds that way. It’s a very thick and boxy sounding bass. Drive. That’s the best way to describe the rhythm of this track. It’s a head bopper with a driving bass.
I was beatboxing to the track before the drum track even came in after the second half of the first verse. I do love how the drums are introduced. Just a kick here and there with a sprinkle of hi-hat.
Ugly Side definitely has some R&B influence and maybe some jazz there too. My kryptonite, really. Again, it has me bopping my head. The piano coming out of the left channel in the second verse kills me. Chef’s kiss.
A spoken word outro is great. It’s a callback to the intro of the track instrumentally. Lyrically, I completely understand. The people you love the most are the ones you are hardest on. It’s because you love them that you’re hard on them. I think I allow myself to be rude and mean. To the people I love the most.
Then there’s that humor coming in again, I don’t know. I’m dropping a new podcast soon so you can hear the rest of it, as the final line of the track. Distorting and trailing toward the second half of the line. To the point where I had no idea what she said. I had to pull up the lyrics.
No doubt about it. Ugly Side is going to be my favorite track on the album. I’m calling it now.
New Love
Y’know... this is the first song where I’m stumped on. It’s a great track, don’t get it twisted. But I’m having such a hard time putting what I’m hearing into words.
It’s chaotic, but chaotically beautiful, if that makes sense. I was completely mesmerized throughout the entire track. Yet, New Love probably wouldn’t make my top five tracks on the album.
I dunno, it’s called a reaction for a reason and this is my raw reaction. It’s just one of those tracks, I suppose. Was it her vocals? Percussion? Composition? I’m not quite sure. I’ll definitely need to re-listen to this track later on.
★★★★★
First, interesting title. Had to copy and paste it from Tidal.
Again, stop! Did not expect this disco-pop style track. Especially with how the song starts with the various sound samples.
The very quick reverb is an interesting choice. It’s not used on a ton of songs in general but gives this track a bit of an "experimental" vibe. The reverb makes her vocal sound a bit robotic and the percussion is pretty abstract.
Combine that with the relatively short run time of 1:49, it’s a very interesting way to end an album. I honestly have no idea how I feel about this track. I’m very torn.
Conclusion
Color me impressed. I had absolutely zero expectations going into the album. And to say this album blew me away is an understatement. I haven’t come out of an album this ecstatic in a very long time. It’s an excellent mix of "cry worthy" songs, and up-beat, queer anthems.
Add to the fact that girl in red is a completely new artist to me. I’d never heard anything from her before. I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! is easily a contender for the top album of 2024 for me. And we’re only four months into the year. As I’ve mentioned a few times already on Threads, 2024 is turning out to be a fantastic year for music.
Now, I’m going to let y’all go so I can buy a ticket to see her in concert and buy this album on vinyl. I’m absolutely in love with the album. It deserves to be played over and over again.
NOTE: This album reaction was completed after listening to girl in red’s I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! with Tidal and an active Tidal subscription with Max enabled via Roon ARC (24-bit, 44.1 kHz).