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Dec 2, 2020Grande is making no effort to be discreet, instead explicitly owning her sexuality—the album is called Positions, after all. The juxtaposition of beautiful violin sounds and risqué lyrics has become one of Grande’s signature sounds, and it suits her well.
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Nov 9, 2020Grande laid bare may well be seen as a stopgap in her canon, using taboo to checkmate her past trauma, but it does pull off the rare feat of at least sounding effortless.
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Nov 5, 2020With little conflict and few psychological insights, Positions zeroes in on the enviable confidence that only pop stars on top of the world and with nothing to lose can afford. It's easy to write it off as empty calories, but pop has always been described in such terms: cake, candy, chocolate, confection. Positions isn't a "sweetener" but pure sugar.
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Nov 5, 2020Such an intense, sustained focus does mean Positions succeeds in sounding sexy but it doesn't do much outside of that: apart from the title track, few songs stand out as individual songs, the rhythm and productions are all painted in shades of grey, and Grande disappears into the setting of her own design.
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Nov 5, 2020For someone so skilled at using social media to cultivate fans’ interest in her personal life, it’s striking — and more than a little moving — to hear her dreaming of seclusion. ... Though Grande’s subject matter shifts after “Shut Up,” the song’s Disney-like strings carry through the rest of “Positions,” which is brighter and sprightlier than the comparatively bleary “Thank U, Next.” ... Prudes can take comfort in the fact that Grande’s sexual liberation hasn’t come at the expense of her winningly earnest theater-kid eccentricities.
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Nov 4, 2020Positions is a perfectly fine light pop/RnB album by the numbers, but Grande’s relentless work ethic over the last few years means that the shine on her songs is starting to dull a bit.
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Nov 3, 2020“Positions” isn’t quite the reinvention that “Thank U Next” was, but it continues Grande’s effort to make the mainstream pop album a looser, weirder and more conversational space. ... Many pop stars attempt to take their sound to the next level by making increasingly grand and bombastic big-tent statements. Grande has succeeded largely by doing just the opposite.
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Nov 3, 2020There is be little risk and reward on Positions, yet Grande's simple desire to memorialize the beginnings of a new love in real-time, and the new fears it entails, has allowed her to create a body of work not beholden to the narrative of resilience. It might not make for her most arresting album nor her most dramatic, but it’s certainly her most sensuous.
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Nov 2, 2020Positions isn’t a perfect album (and far from an instant classic in the vein of Sweetener or Thank U, Next), but the LP is a more-than-worthy stepping stone to whatever comes next for the artist.
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Nov 2, 2020Grande is far too talented to be crafting forgettable pop albums, so here’s to hoping that she regains her footing soon.
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Nov 2, 2020Positions doesn’t broaden Grande’s sound the way her past few albums have, and it isn’t buoyed by a heroic anthem, like “no tears left to cry,” or guided by a specific mission, like how “thank u, next” honored her relationship history. The record resonates partly because it doesn’t weld grand statements out of living with trauma; it narrows in on the wobbly path of pleading with yourself, the begging and bargaining of healing.
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Nov 2, 2020Positions is minor growth, major strength and a solid step forward in the right direction for one pop’s most exciting stars.
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Nov 2, 2020Grande’s immaculate outer shell both physically and artistically reframes her personal struggles through artifice, communicating relatability to her audience. Yet the lack of grit, grunge or goo keeps Positions distant from the listener, sitting far away, somewhere in the dark.
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Oct 30, 2020When it comes to music these days, Grande is all about the quickies. And “Positions” benefits from that economy and repeatability. It’s full of expertly conceived songs you wish would at least try to overstay their welcome, though there’s never any real regret when she hits the “Thank u, next” button to move on to a successor.
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Oct 30, 2020positions has hints of classical and R&B — staples of Grande's previous work. Songs like the title track and "love language" weave in orchestral strings, violins and catchy backbeats to elevate the listening experience, effortlessly meshes these contrasting genres to keep her pop sound distinctive.
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Oct 30, 2020Positions fits neatly in the pop princess’ catalogue and feels like a worthy continuation of her story. The narratives (much like the vocals) are lush, filled with graceful twists and turns, plenty of side characters to keep our attention, and a star worth rooting for.
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Oct 30, 2020It’s a pleasant listen, but this feels strange juxtaposed with the lyrical content that flits between brazen vulnerability and all-out raunch-fest, demanding something more. As an introduction to the next era of Grande’s career, it’s solid, but you can’t help but feel it’s missing some of her trademark sparkle.
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Oct 30, 2020While thank u, next is probably her best work – and it will probably remain that way forever – Positions is Grande’s most carefree, most playful, most mature work to date.
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Oct 30, 2020Positions is less captivating than Thank U, Next and Sweetener, both of which felt more complete and unskippable. But for an album no one knew was coming until two weeks ago, it’s more than adequate.
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Oct 30, 2020Positions is not as immediate as the work Grande is known for, though it will find many fans. There are no tentpole hits, no obvious hooks and far too many words crammed into 14 relatively short and sometimes samey songs. But it explores new territory for the singer: new relationships, a new sound, a new sense of self.
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Oct 30, 2020While the album is pretty much removed from her usual major pop moments, it’s more refreshing that way, and there’s more of a connective-unit feel to Positions than much of her previous work. After all, Grande has always been an album artist, and this one is yet another to whistle home about.
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Oct 30, 2020Given the dearth of uptempo tracks on Grande’s last album, the microhouse “Motive,” featuring Doja Cat, and the breathless, disco-inflected “Love Language” are a welcome change of pace. Too many of the songs on Positions, however, rely on the same midtempo trap-pop that populated Grande’s previous two efforts, particularly Thank U, Next. What once seemed refreshing in its minimalism is quickly starting to feel insubstantial.
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Oct 30, 2020Positions deals in polished professionalism, not pulse-quickening excitement.
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Oct 30, 2020Despite never being freer as an artist, there is a safety to Positions that means it only occasionally takes off.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4,157 out of 5940
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Mixed: 417 out of 5940
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Negative: 1,366 out of 5940
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Oct 30, 2020
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Oct 30, 2020
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Nov 29, 2020"Positions" is her worst album, she is staying in a comfort zone, it sounds like a discard from her previous albums...