On her sixth studio album, 2024's
Timeless, singer
Meghan Trainor takes a little of everything she's done previously -- from R&B-infused dance-pop to the swinging, doo wop-inspired sound of her breakthrough, "All About That Bass" -- and concocts a frothy, confident, mixtape of an album. Helping her achieve this sugary, feel-good vibe are a cadre of production collaborators, including
Federico Vindver,
Gian Stone,
Grant Boutin,
Jason Evigan, and her brother
Justin Trainor. Together, they craft an album that hits many of the stylistic beats
Trainor is known for, including minor-key '60s-style torch songs ("To the Moon"), horn- driven Latin groovers ("I Don't Do Maybe"), and, as always, her contemporary, hip-hop-inspired update of '50s vocal doo wop ("Whoops"). Is much of this pastel-colored, tongue-in-cheek genre pastiche? Of course, but it's also smartly written and full of melodic hooks that underscore
Trainor's skill as both a pop craftsman and vocalist. There's an empowered pop swagger to her work, one she deftly encapsulates in meme-sized slogans, as on "Been Like This" with
T-Pain, singing "But I been like this, I been like this/Run your mouth, but I'm on your lips/Ain't nothin' new, still that b*tch." That the lyric is perhaps a sly reference to a
Meghan Thee Stallion anthem speaks to the canny cross-genre influences at play in
Trainor's work. It's a vibe she conjures throughout the album, especially on the other guest tracks like "Crushin'" with the New York soul-pop outfit
Lawrence and the girl group-esque "I Wanna Thank Me" with actress
Niecy Nash. With
Timeless,
Trainor might still be that doo wop-centric, all-about-that-bass girl, but she knows how to work it. ~ Matt Collar
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