REVIEW #1: 88/100

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It seemed all but certain Mariah Carey was gone for good. 

 

Though her last effort Mirage debuted to critical and commercial success, the album failed to reach the previous heights of her esteemed career and currently sits as a massive underperformance compared to the mammoth era that was Arcane. With a year long disappearance, it seemed we’d seen the end of Mariah Carey’s reign, but we should have learned by now never to count her out. Ditching her old record label and joining the recently formed label responsible for Sabrina Carpenter, Mariah has returned with perhaps the most unexpected change of pace of her career, and truth be told it’s the best decision she’s ever made. 

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Invincible chronicles the year that Mariah has been away caring for her grandmother who is suffering with dementia. The album is an honest, open hearted, vulnerable, and contemplative representation of the complex feelings and emotions that come with having to watch a loved one suffer in such a way. This of course means that the album is emotional in a way that doesn’t just bring tears to the eyes, but that shakes you to your very core. There is something frighteningly true that rests inside this album and it’s that things like pain, regret, and sadness are not so easily defined in black and white terms but are instead complicated and grey. Such a loud, shattering truth is exactly what Carey’s discography has been missing from the very beginning, and especially her in her last two albums. 

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The album’s strongest element is without question it’s lyricism. Mariah has never been known for her songwriting, and this rang especially true on albums like Arcane and Mirage. It’s almost hard to believe that the same woman who wrote those albums wrote this one. It almost feels like someone else entirely has possessed the woman and turned her into someone who understands what it takes to write a damn good song. These songs feel like they’re pulled straight from the pages of a diary, but I suppose that that’s exactly what this album is. 

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Songs like “Catherine” do such a devastatingly gorgeous job of painting a vivid picture. The images that song and others conjure in your mind are familiar, and that’s what makes these songs so powerful. These are things we know, things we have perhaps even experienced. It shows a life that could be our own. She manages to turn these familiar concepts into something that fills you with emotional nostalgia for the past and fearful questions about the future. 

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There are a few motifs used in the lyrics that tie these songs together. Seeing as memory is the primary thing impacted by dementia, memory is focused on extensively here. Mariah keeps returning to the idea of something being too powerful to be forgotten, yet standing in despair as those things are forgotten anyway. There was every inch of room for this to become repetitive, and a Mariah of another time would have employed it exactly that way. But it never feels repetitive here. The callbacks to this idea are employed so effectively and used in just the right moments that it reminds us how often these things come to mind when having the experiences that Mariah has had. 

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Production wise, the album is a strong departure from the last few albums and that couldn’t be more of a compliment. Gone are the generic pop beats and incomes some of the most delicate and rich instrumentation Mariah’s ever given us. Guitar and piano populate the majority of the record, and it’s somewhat disappointing to say that there are some songs were not enough effort was made to diversify the sound. While the album never ends up feeling repetitive, the middle section of the album does begin to bleed together sonically if you’re not paying attention to how things are moving along. 

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This soundscape has been done before by artists such as Lorde, Florence Welch, and Lana Del Rey, but thankfully this doesn’t feel like it’s lifted out of their playbook. Though it plays by similar rules, nothing feels like it could belong to those women. 

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There are production moments though that are quite unique, despite the overall palette being familiar. Opener “Catherine” toes a line between vintage and fresh, working in tandem with it’s lyrical themes of then and now, the past compared to the present. “Eternity/Back in Time” is two distinct pieces of music that somehow manage to sit perfectly next to one another and if you didn’t know the song’s title, the twist shakeup in the middle would take you by total pleasant surprise. 

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In the end, there was a lot of room for Mariah to fail on this album. But instead, she used every bit of the room she was given to create something genuinely magical. The gripes one can take with this album are miniscule when compared to what there is to be praised. Never has Mariah been so open, raw, vulnerable, and honest with what she feels. It’s almost shocking at times to hear what’s being said, but when you realize how much it needed to come off of her chest, you cannot help but melt into it. The album is emotional, never once letting it’s tight grip on you go. But what’s so remarkable is she never leans into this emotion in a way that feels manipulative. At the core of the album is something so genuine, that this emotion always feels real and palpable. Though the production doesn’t always match the heights of her songwriting masterstrokes here, it almost always is more than good enough and is often just as great. 

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This is the album we’ve been asking her to make for ages, and now that it’s here, we hope she continues down this path. Invincible is the best album she’s ever given us. It almost seemed like it was impossible to say once upon a time, but there’s a reason to believe in Mariah Carey again, and it’s this stellar piece of work.
 

Standout Tracks: Catherine, The Night of the Fall, Eternity/Back in Time

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REVIEW #2: 85/100

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Mariah Carey has returned! Following the highly successful release of her "Mirage" album, the songstress seemed to be heading towards a bigger than ever status. However, not long after the release of "Tidal Wave", she disappeared from the public eye. Now, after an extended break, she has returned to the public eye, under new management and with a brand new image. After the amalgamation of spiritualism and sexuality that was "Mirage", the betrayal and heartbreak of "Arcane" and the puzzling nature of "Clean State", "Invincible", the next Mariah Carey offering, turns out to be distancing itself from anything she has ever done. Sharing the title with its lead single, "Invincible" is a touching tribute to Carey's grandmother, the reason for her disappearance from the public eye, who has been suffering from dementia.

 

One thing that is for sure at an all time high on this record is the lyricism. One of the best instances of this is the opening track, "Catherine". Throughout, the listener is immersed right away into a beautiful and elegant scenery, where images of the protagonist being happy and starting her journey into adulthood are merged with the regret and hurt Carey feels for not getting the chance of meeting that version. And how beautiful. Every line is crafted masterfully and the emotional nature of the record punches the listener right away. "Cool Grey" follows the same successful formula. By highlighting the nature of their relationship and how it's changed since she was a kid, Carey provides the image of growing up. Image that terrifies her, especially as she watches the woman who raised her become as helpless as she was. The motif of a colouring book and pens being handed to somebody who is "reliving a childhood that's 8 decades past" embraces the situation perfectly, talking about both how the situation affects the people around "Catherine" and how it affects her. 

 

Something that is common on all the lyrics on the record is their intimate nature. As one listens further, it feels almost like an invasion of privacy to read these stories. "The Night of The Fall" is where that sentiment peaks. With highly descriptive lyrics, the entire song is heartbreaking. From the obliviousness before the situation came into Carey's family and changed everything, to the impact it had on them, to the impact it had on the protagonist. "Home three months later with a scroll of meds / But part of you wishes you hadn't made it" she sings on maybe one of the moments with the highest emotional load on the whole "Invincible". Even on the previous song, "Don't Let Me Fade", a lullaby-like track, the songstress is seemingly unloading a weight off her chest, laying the foundation for her telling of the night of "The Fall". The lyricism is clever and the storytelling allows the listener to see the images themselves, without forcing a thing. However, "A Long Goodbye" is probably the saddest track on the entire record, giving Mariah all the space to show her resentment to the future, as she expects the end of a life she wishes it would never end. The burden of the events are showing and though her love for the protagonist is obvious, the goodbyes that she's been saying to her for a while turn into pure anxiety residing over Mariah.

 

Other than the aforementioned songs on the record, the rest have beauitful lyrics. However, "Family Portrait" gives the record a great perspective, Mariah showing the worst side of her grandmother's condition. What makes the song a highlight is the anger that is, indirectly, shown. Not towards the protagonist, but towards the way her condition has been tearing apart her relationship with Mariah. There is no direct showcase of anger per say, but the way every line is worded makes the listener empathize with Mariah. Another intriguing song on the album is "Eternity / Back In Time", the most uptempo moment on the album. Though lyrically it does not stand out amongst other tracks, it manages to give the listener a break to appreciate the album as the song embodies its themes perfectly, as the singer details how she wishes she could take her grandmother to her good days. The last remaining tracks, "Red Wine" and "Night Terrors", though beautiful in their content, don't seem to be hitting as hard as the other songs lyrically. However, they are still great offerings, with their themes being very great and even the execution being million times better than duds on other Mariah Carey albums. The production on the record ties everything together with a nice bow, despite some moments getting too same-y. That being said, the overall sound being something out of a fairy tale adds up to the sad nature of Carey's relationship with her grandmother and the beautiful love she has for her.

 

All in all, "Invincible" is a great record. With highly emotional lyrics and clever songwriting, this is by far Mariah's best album yet. The bravery it takes for her to abandon the pop sound and to release a love letter to her grandmother and their life together is to be appreciated, especially as it shines a bright light on the songstress' abilities as an artist. Though there are some weaker moments, the body of work serves its purpose perfectly, making the listener connect with Mariah and her emotions, as we peek into a side of her that is more intimate than ever. "You're still my everything / Just not my saviour anymore" she sings towards the end of the album, summarizing the beautiful and sad entirety of the record.

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SCORE #3: 90/100

Nuanced, thoughtful songwriting that shows a real empathy and care towards the subject matter. Instrumentals all supported the lyrics perfectly. Relentlessly heart-wrenching, but a beautiful tribute.

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SCORE #4: 78/100

Mariah's best album by several miles. While the production and lyricism at times can become monotonous and blend together into one large song, the songwriting on the album can't be faulted. 

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SCORE #5: 85/100

Following the 2019 release of "Mirage", "Invincible" shows the superstar at her most vulnerable and personal point in her career yet, dedicating an entire album about her grandmother's illness and the duality between her complex emotions and the acceptance of the changes in her present, future and the eternal longing for the past. "Invincible" in a way tells the story and speaks for millions and yet for some reason was not told enough in music today. The album showcases Mariah's best songwriting in her career with special stand-outs such as: Red Wine, Cool Grey and Night Terrors along with a gentle mostly piano-led heart-touching production that carry the lyrics so beautifully. "Invincible" feels like it was written from a genuine standpoint of Carey trying to rewrite her last moments with her grandmother as she would've hoped to remember her. All of Mariah's previous projects have shown to some extent a constant chase after maintaining the commercial success of her early days which also reflected in the music but this albums marks a departure from that and the beginning of a new chapter for her of pure sincerity and truthfulness.

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SCORE #6: 86/100

A beautiful love letter to a beloved family, Invincible shows Mariah Carey at her rawest and most “real”, and quite frankly blows her previous albums out of the water when it comes to lyrical content. While more shifts in the production could have been helpful, it’s never not enjoyable and sounds very beautiful and elegant all throughout.