While I love Singular Act I, I wasn't quite as excited about certain songs and aspects of Act II. The major issue for me is that while Singular Act I felt very centered around being empowered in yourself, Act II didn't have as much of a theme to it. In interviews, Sabrina has said Act I is supposed to make you comfortable with yourself, and Act II makes you uncomfortable with yourself. I can definitely see that "uncomfortable with yourself" aspect in some songs on this album, but not all of them. "Looking At Me" definitely doesn't have that, and it's a bit of a stretch for some songs like "Tell 'Em" and "Take You Back," which feel like maybe they'd fit better on Act I. I also wasn't a fan of the R&B production of certain tracks, which Sabrina fans have lovingly dubbed "R&Brina."
Going track-by-track like with the last two albums, let's start with the first track "In My Bed." This song discusses being stuck in your head, feeling trapped by emotions, which is a feeling that has likely been relatable to all of us at one point or another. The surrealness/multi-dimensional feeling of the production supplements Sabrina's lyrics feeling of being trapped quite well. I love how Sabrina gets at the idea of wanting to be alone when you are alone, in the sense that you just want to escape your thoughts. This song leaves the listener empowered that it's okay to be stuck in your head sometimes, because you will get through this.
"Pushing 20" dives into the idea of how the world tells you cannot be selfish, but there is a balance between this and taking care of yourself. Sabrina discusses her feelings of wanting to be herself, because she is overwhelmed with the heavy expectations of others wanting her to be someone she is not. Sabrina asserts her self-confidence and informs those people telling her who to be that she has no time for them. The production and vocals perfectly align on this song, and it's a very empowering message because many people have probably had someone tell them what to do or who to be.
"I Can't Stop Me" is where I started enjoying the album less. The lyrics of this song felt a bit lazy ("Cuz I like what I like what I like like like" repeated over and over), and I felt Saweetie ruined the song. There are a number of Saweetie's songs that I enjoy, but her constant ad libs even during Sabrina's verses felt annoying. I'm also not a huge fan of the production, which starts to go in that R&B direction. The song lyrically discusses being impulsive, and not being able to stop yourself from giving into your impulses. I also thought Saweetie pushed this in a sexual direction, whereas Sabrina's verses were more sensual. That's not to say I'm completely against sexual songs, but I felt some of Saweetie's lyrics like "I like my nights erotic, yeah, p**** so aquatic!" were a bit much and took away from what Sabrina intended for the song. From an interview Sabrina did, it very much feels like the collaboration was a decision her label pushed on her. She makes a comment that "My label really liked this girl named Saweetie and wanted her on my song, and she seemed really nice, so I collabed with her" or something like that. This makes it sound like it was more corporate pressure than Sabrina's decision. She also has said that the full song was written, and then Saweetie's verse was recorded separately and later added on. Sabrina has opened up about her label forcing decisions about her songs on her, since she left Hollywood Records. She hasn't specifically mentioned any song, but the clues make me feel like this was one of those songs she was talking about. This is one of my least favorite Sabrina songs of all time, only surpassed by "Skin" and possibly "Hold Tight."
"I'm Fakin'" is definitely better than the previous one, but I still didn't love this track. This song was written in an hour, and it's pretty noticeable. Some of the lyrics, such as “I roll my eyes, you check your phone" feel a bit immature to me compared to the rest of Sabrina's discography. Lyrically, the song discusses feeling selfish and wanting someone to "fall on their knees" for you because you are in love with them. The song itself is quite catchy production-wise, but it's one of those songs that lacks actual substance in the lyrics.
I like the message of being vulnerable in "Take Off All Your Cool," but it's executed poorly. The R&B type production is quite boring to me. The lyrics discuss trying to get someone to open up to you and stop putting on a "cool façade, but it does so through using sensual metaphors. This increases the possibility for the song to be easily misinterpreted as meaning opening up to someone on a superficial sexual level. This in combination with the production being generally very boring makes this song much less enjoyable to me. I don't think I've listened to it more than once.
Sabrina channels her inner Ariana Grande on "Tell 'Em," just like she had on the previous track 6 on Act I with Taylor Swift on "Bad Time." However, I don't think it worked well, or in the same way that it did with "Bad Time." In "Bad Time," Sabrina was inspired by Taylor Swift's style to supplement her own voice in the music, but "Tell 'Em" feels more like it was Sabrina just trying really hard to sound like Ariana Grande. Her voice didn't really come through in this, both literally in terms of her not really sounding like herself, and artistically in the sense that Sabrina's personality didn't really come through on this. I like the concept of not feeling the need to tell other people about the intimate relationship you share with someone else, but it does feel overly slow and repetitive, and I was bored by the end. I don't love the R&B production on this song either. This was the last song written for the album on Valentine's Day 2019, and it does feel tacked on in the sense that it's a bit of stretch with the "uncomfortable with yourself" theme.
"Exhale" was a huge improvement from the last four songs. This is one of Sabrina's most vulnerable songs ever, which discusses having anxiety because you're not able to live up to others' heavy expectations of you, and just needing a moment to breath. Whereas the last track sounded like Sabrina trying to be someone else, Sabrina's voice comes through on this song so clearly. You can tell she is being very vulnerable and opening up to her fans about how she doubts herself, puts too much weight on situations, and feels confined by the labels others put on her. The line "I try to be an angel, but I don't think I can" is so powerful to me. As I'm sure many others have, I have felt pressure sometimes to be someone I'm not, or to live up to the expectations others have for me, and it can be very hurtful at times because you feel like you are letting others down. This is one of my favorite Sabrina songs due to the vulnerability and relatability.
I have a bit of a soft spot for "Take You Back" and it's really grown on me, even if it does echo that R&B tone. The lyrics of "Take You Back" talks about wishing you could undo a relationship that ended up being harmful to you. I do wish that the song would have taken the message a step further and talked about how you can't just pretend a relationship didn't happen, because it is important to learn from what didn't work in the past. However, it is a very relatable and empowering song and I give Sabrina props for that.
Finally, we move to "Looking At Me," which talks about owning your confidence and not caring what others think of you. This song could be viewed in multiple ways: everyone looking at you because you're beautiful, but I also think you could interpret it as everyone looking at you not mattering because you're empowered in who you are and it doesn't matter how others judge you. The sassy vocals from Sabrina over the Latin-type beat sound excellent. Even if the song could be interpreted as everyone looking at you because you're sexy, the song has meaning beyond the shallow first interpretation that people might have. This track feels like it would have fit more on Act I, though.
Overall, while there were some songs I enjoyed on this album, there were just as many that I didn't due to the bad production, and somewhat shallow writing at times. As Sabrina looks towards releasing her next album, I hope that she moves away from the R&B sound of this album. I liked that "Skinny Dipping" had a more quirky tone, though the talk-singing wasn't my favorite just because it sounded more like Julia Michaels (who wrote the song) than Sabrina. I hope she continues to embrace her quirks as she moves into this next album.
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