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Jan 10, 2020It’s hard to think of a more dramatic example of how far Gomez has come musically in nearly five years: “Rare” is one of the best pop albums to be released in recent memory, and — as it does for artists ranging from Robyn and Charli XCX to Max Martin’s more adventurous productions — it feels like that term does a discredit to this sophisticated, precisely written and expertly produced music.
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Jan 9, 2020A varsity-squad production team, including various Max Martin-affiliated Swedes and the ace songwriting duo of Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels, bring their considerable contributions — though their job, of course, is to make Gomez sound like nothing less than her own woman: a girl interrupted but now returned, in Rare form.
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Jan 14, 2020The record she has delivered to kickstart a new decade is a career defining release, and from a pop star who is firmly back on top of her game.
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Jan 10, 2020Rare proves that when she has strong songs and the producers get a little weird, she's just enough outside the mainstream to sound fresh. Add in some deeply felt and real emotion like she does here, and it verges on being something special, maybe her best record yet. If it isn't that, it's at least her most interesting one yet and that's something fans of the homogenized pop scene of the era should celebrate.
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Jan 10, 2020Rare is shockingly, and beautifully, upbeat.
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Jan 9, 2020There’s also an infectious spirit of adventure to the album’s arrangements that brings you over to Gomez’s side.
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Jan 13, 2020Rare is most effective when it glistens.
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Jan 14, 2020While none of these 13 songs attempt the subtle weirdness of “Bad Liar” and the emotional thesis—self-love!—can be a bit one-note, Rare is the 27-year-old’s most cohesive record to date. ... But it’s difficult to come away from Rare with any real perspective on who Gomez is other than that she doesn’t want to be the person she was, whoever that similarly mysterious shadow was.
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Jan 13, 2020Gomez’s return is filled with some great pop music, but falls short of what we suspect she’s capable of. She sticks to similar themes as she did on Revival, instead of exploring different sounds as she did with 2018 single “Back to You” and 2017’s “Bad Liar”.
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Jan 15, 2020Rare continually teases intriguing forays into leftfield pop, but so many of the album’s experiments come off as just that, without ever crystallizing with memorable hooks.
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Jan 10, 2020Blips aside, ‘Rare’ is a beautifully confident return from one of pop’s most underrated stars, and a quietly defiant wrestling back of the narrative surrounding her.
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Jan 9, 2020There is a lot to like about Rare. But it never quite gets out from beneath the shadow of half a decade of behemothic bangers.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 8,297 out of 9647
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Mixed: 231 out of 9647
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Negative: 1,119 out of 9647
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Jan 10, 2020This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.
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Jan 10, 2020
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Jan 10, 2020rare by selena gomez? an amazing example of how pop music is supposed to be. selena took a risk and every song is so different. i love it