Mabel’s second album ‘About Last Night...’ follows her to a party, where she moves from confident beginnings to romantic struggles that eventually blossom into newfound euphoric self-love. On this night of twists, you’ll find no pre-drinks at Spoons or dodgy kebabs in sight.
One of the biggest issues with Mabel’s debut album ‘High Expectations’ was that it suffered from a lack of consistency, and across ‘About Last Night...’ that problem largely hasn’t been addressed. The first few tracks are far too formulaic, relying on production that cannot be distinguished from other mainstream pop songs. There are none of the dancefloor epiphanies that Mabel wants us to experience. Instead, we go through the motions to cookie cutter beats.
Funnily enough, it isn’t until things start going wrong for Mabel that the album begins to look up. On Good Luck, which features Jax Jones and Galantis, we hear Mabel sarcastically wishing offering her best to a guy trying to find another girl like her. All of a sudden, there’s a real buoyancy and a genuine sense of fun to be had in the rhythms.
The song marks a bombastic shift for the album, introducing the strings that blare throughout Let Love Go and the slick disco guitar lick on Crying On The Dance Floor. The album’s concept, which seemed to be used sparingly in the beginning, is now an engrossing centrepiece about losing somebody before realising that they were never good for you in the first place.
It must be said, though, that even once this change has occurred there are too many girl boss-isms intertwined with this story, with some clumsy self-empowerment messages at times highlighting Mabel’s weaknesses as a lyricist. ‘About Last Night...’ does pick up eventually, but we are still left with questions as to who Mabel really is as an artist.
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