3 stars (out of four)
The music industry isn't lacking for songs about an ample posterior, but Meghan Trainor's breakout single "All About That Bass" represents one of the few oases (oasi?) on mainstream radio: An irresistibly catchy track with lyrics that actually matter and don't seem like they originated as a drunken tweet. Looking at you, Bruno Mars.
Much of Trainor's major-label full-length debut "Title" maintains her hit's sense of shimmy and empowerment. With a stronger voice than Katy Perry in more ways than one (which, granted, isn't saying much), the 21-year-old pop singer/occasional rapper presents relationships as a two-way street, challenging men to deserve her without putting herself on a pedestal or simplifying the dating world. (On "Walkashame" she sings, "We all make mistakes in the drunk world"; on "3 a.m." she frets after not hearing back from a "late-night friend.") Thematic redundancy appears from "Dear Future Husband" to the title track and bonus tracks "No Good For You" and "Mr. Almost," but the light, frequently backward-looking music ("Dear Future Husband" samples Dion's 1961 smash "Runaround Sue") is tough to dislike even as the record repeats itself.
Trainor's rapping on "My Selfish Heart" (one of four extra tracks on the deluxe version) reiterates that not everyone needs to try to be Nicki Minaj, while John Legend wasn't the right choice to guest on the heartfelt "Like I'm Going to Lose You." Yet Trainor's affection for the old-school isn't an affectation like Lana Del Rey's; it's well-sung sweetness that elevates the opening interlude "The Best Part" and "What If I." The artist, who actually writes her own songs, also gets points for pulling off "Bang Dem Sticks," an upbeat track on which she sings, "I got a thing for drummers, how the beat shakes up my heart," that feels fun instead of throwaway.
She's versatile, confident, vulnerable and smart, something everyone should already know based on "Lips Are Movin." In a genre that can never have enough ambassadors for quality in the uphill battle against generic, annoying crap, Trainor comes out swinging.
In concert: March 4 at House of Blues
The music industry isn't lacking for songs about an ample posterior, but Meghan Trainor's breakout single "All About That Bass" represents one of the few oases (oasi?) on mainstream radio: An irresistibly catchy track with lyrics that actually matter and don't seem like they originated as a drunken tweet. Looking at you, Bruno Mars.
Much of Trainor's major-label full-length debut "Title" maintains her hit's sense of shimmy and empowerment. With a stronger voice than Katy Perry in more ways than one (which, granted, isn't saying much), the 21-year-old pop singer/occasional rapper presents relationships as a two-way street, challenging men to deserve her without putting herself on a pedestal or simplifying the dating world. (On "Walkashame" she sings, "We all make mistakes in the drunk world"; on "3 a.m." she frets after not hearing back from a "late-night friend.") Thematic redundancy appears from "Dear Future Husband" to the title track and bonus tracks "No Good For You" and "Mr. Almost," but the light, frequently backward-looking music ("Dear Future Husband" samples Dion's 1961 smash "Runaround Sue") is tough to dislike even as the record repeats itself.
Trainor's rapping on "My Selfish Heart" (one of four extra tracks on the deluxe version) reiterates that not everyone needs to try to be Nicki Minaj, while John Legend wasn't the right choice to guest on the heartfelt "Like I'm Going to Lose You." Yet Trainor's affection for the old-school isn't an affectation like Lana Del Rey's; it's well-sung sweetness that elevates the opening interlude "The Best Part" and "What If I." The artist, who actually writes her own songs, also gets points for pulling off "Bang Dem Sticks," an upbeat track on which she sings, "I got a thing for drummers, how the beat shakes up my heart," that feels fun instead of throwaway.
She's versatile, confident, vulnerable and smart, something everyone should already know based on "Lips Are Movin." In a genre that can never have enough ambassadors for quality in the uphill battle against generic, annoying crap, Trainor comes out swinging.
In concert: March 4 at House of Blues
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mpais@tribune.com
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