These past few weeks have been extremely stressful for all of us. By the time this comes out, there will hopefully be a new president elected [Editor’s Note: YAY!!!], but even then there’s most likely going to be extreme anger and virule from the losing side. It’s been a literal fight for democracy including everything from Trump flat out saying he’s not accepting the results if he loses, and bouts of voter suppression all over the country in battleground states. And on top of that, most of us have our own personal struggles we’re going through, whether that be loved ones with COVID, work or school troubles, or a myriad of other things. It feels frivolous trying to talk about music during these times, but Positions is here to give us a distraction from the hellscape that is 2020, even if it’s only for 41 minutes at a time.
Positions doesn’t break any new ground for Grande. It’s an R&B focused record made almost entirely by Ariana and her in house team, including Tommy Brown and Steven Franks on production, and Tayla Parx and Victoria Monet to help with the writing. This allows the project to have a pretty cohesive sound overall and leads to her fitting the sound of these songs perfectly. There’s not one moment on here where she doesn’t sound at home over these instrumentals.
While that does make the album feel almost like something we’ve already heard before, she clearly wasn’t trying to make a career defining album with Positions. This is supposed to be a fun, lighthearted album after working through all the trauma that she’s had to process over the past couple years. Just look at the lead singles for her past few projects. “No tears left to cry” kicked off her rollout for sweetener and was all about her processing the 2017 Manchester bombing at her concert. “Thank u, next” is easily one of her most personal songs that shows her talking about her past relationships by name and how they’ve made her the woman she is today. But “positions” is equally about her being happy to be in a relationship, and the load of sexual innuendos that end up coming through just as strong, if not stronger than the first meaning.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t any personal subject matter on here though, as there are a few songs that are personal. The closing track, “pov”, is the best example of this and shows Ariana talking about her insecurities of being in a relationship. It shows her longing to see herself through her significant other’s eyes so it’ll quell that anxiety, as she knows that he truly loves her for who she is. Sonically, the song also builds better than almost any on the album with Ariana giving an especially fantastic vocal performance on this track. It also shows us what much of the production on here sounds like.
The album revolves around these hip hop and R&B style drums, but mixed with luscious string sections and elegant chords. Sometimes it’s extremely string heavy, like on the opener “shut up”. It opens the project with just layers of Ariana’s vocals and strings the entire song, creating an almost Disney-esque style song. But then there are straight hip hop bangers on here, like the song “nasty”. If you took out Ariana’s background whistling, the song would fit in perfectly with all the atmospheric trap that is currently popular, someone like Playboi Carti for example. Although these styles sound pretty different from each other, the album still flows together really well.
One song on here that encapsulates everything that I’ve mentioned so far is “off the table” with The Weeknd. It’s another one of the songs with personal subject matter, as she’s debating if love is even on the table for her after all the trauma that she’s experienced. Abel plays the role of her fictional lover that is trying to make her feel better. He even throws in some lighthearted references to his other song with Ariana, “Love Me Harder”, and his own hit song “The Hills”. “Off the table” also has the traditional strings that are on the album, as well as the traditional 90s R&B percussion and subtle guitar. Is it unique in any way, not really. But is it still an enjoyable and beautiful song, absolutely.
That’s how I would sum up Positions as a whole as well. It is nothing new for any of the genres that she uses on here, or for herself either, but it is still a pleasant listen. Her vocal arrangements are still some of the best in pop music, especially on tracks like “shut up”, “safety net”, and “my hair”. There are some quality upbeat songs that would get people to start dancing, including the Doja Cat assisted “motive”, the string heavy “love language”, and the outrageous sex track that is “34+35”.
It’s not anything new, but it doesn’t have to be. I think that’s going to throw a lot of her fans away from this project on first listen. This project is the equivalent of Kendrick Lamar releasing DAMN in 2017. After releasing two highly conceptual, personal masterpieces that tackle these world-changing problems, DAMN is fairly simple and straightforward, for the most part. Sure, there’s a good amount of introspection and storytelling, but it’s also at least half just filled with bangers. Positions is the same way for Ariana’s career. It’s not the gut-wrenchingly personal endeavors of her previous projects, but it’s still another extremely entertaining project in her discography.
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