Mariah Carey Doesn't Deliver With "Caution"

Mariah Carey has long been one of R&B’s queens, especially now that the Christmas season’s rolling around (you know exactly what I mean). Her latest record doesn’t quite live up to that status, though. Mariah Carey doesn’t deliver with Caution, her new record that lacks any punch.

R&B isn’t meant to be an overbearing, intense, or even driven genre, but it’s almost like the core elements of what would even make a song catchy is absent throughout Caution. Opening track ‘GTFO‘ delivers an unintentionally funny chorus (“How 'bout you get the fuck out? / Get the fuck out / (How 'bout you) take your tings and be on your merry way“) but does get the record off to a fairly sweet, if not a bit empty, start. The record goes on to keep delivering these weird songs that are clearly intended to be singles but just don’t offer anything up, like ‘A No No' which is simply just repetitive and ‘One Mo’ Gen‘ which really doesn’t land in any way. Some tracks just seem mislead, like ‘8th Grade‘ - if you’re still singing about something from 8th grade, something’s wrong.

Caution doesn’t deliver any bangers, but for what it’s worth, not every track is abysmal. Title track ‘Caution‘ doesn’t have a definitive climax but it does come off as a a fairly solid pop song. It’s neither too much nor too little - it’s the right in between to make it just a perfectly average pop track. ‘The Distance‘ featuring Ty Dolla $ign brings a bit more drive but still doesn’t leave much of an impact; neither does ‘Giving Me Life‘ with Slick Rick and Blood Orange, though it does have some nice drive to it. The only track that really holds its own ground is closing track ‘Portrait,’ which comes with a nice, mysterious and even introspective mood to end the record on.

Mariah Carey doesn’t deliver with Caution, offering up many empty, weak tracks that simply just don’t leave any impact. It’s pop minutia, with very few redeemable moments but few that really drag it down all the same.

Favorite Track: Portrait

Least Favorite Tracks: A No No, 8th Grade, One Mo’ Gen

Rating: 54 / 100

Stream or buy Caution on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: