Carly Rae Jepsen Day and Night

Tracks: Disc One: After All, Habits of Creatures, Versailles, On Wires, Blue Skies, Burning Heart, Wild Child, Good Fine Alright, Something Tragic, Soft, Lonely Side of the Bed, Just a Little Walk on the Moon. Disc Two: Never Let A Good Thing Die, Amalfi Coast, Patience Power Passion, Don't Leave Me on the Dance Floor, Motivation, You Don't Know How It Feels, Near or Far, Diver, Hold Me To The Light, That's Just Me, No Labels, I Love You, Super Sage

Label: School Boy

There is a particular magic to Carly Rae Jepsen that only really makes sense when you see her live. I caught her on her last UK tour, and she effortlessly proved herself to be one of the best pop performers I’ve seen: completely at ease on stage, utterly committed to the songs and capable of turning a roomful of people into one giant, euphoric chorus.

Of course, for all the depth of her catalogue, two songs continue to cast an unusually large cultural shadow. Call Me Maybe and I Really Like You have long since escaped the confines of pop fandom and become part of the wider vocabulary. Even my nine-year-old will happily quote them. They are Carly Rae Jepsen moments in the truest sense – songs that everybody seems to know, whether they followed the rest of her career or not.

But the great trick of Jepsen’s career has been repeatedly demonstrating that there is so much more beneath those enormous hooks. Day and Night, her sprawling new double album, is another reminder of exactly that.

Across 24 songs, Jepsen gives herself space to indulge almost every corner of her pop imagination. There are immediate pleasures, certainly, but this is not simply a collection designed to manufacture another Call Me Maybe. In fact, its greatest rewards often come when she moves away from the obvious and starts exploring the stranger, softer and more interesting possibilities of pop.

Motivation is the obvious candidate for the next big cultural moment. It has the propulsion, the instant chorus and the sheer feel-good force to demand attention beyond the existing Carly Rae faithful. Yet it is almost beside the point. The real pleasure of Day and Night lies in what happens when you keep listening.

The album’s two halves provide a useful framework. 'Day’ is the more reflective, organic side, allowing Jepsen to wander through hazier textures and more unexpected arrangements, while ‘Night’ turns towards the dancefloor without simply reverting to formula. The distinction never feels restrictive; instead, it gives her an excuse to move freely between moods, tempos and shades of pop.

And Jepsen is at her best when she does exactly that. ‘Burning Heart’ finds her leaning into something bigger and more atmospheric, while Wild Child strips things back into something almost folk-like. Just A Little Walk On The Moon takes another left turn entirely, its gentle bossa nova influence making it feel wonderfully out of place in the best possible way.

Then the lights come on for ‘Night’. Don’t Leave Me On The Dancefloor is pure pop pleasure, while Amalfi Coast glides along with the sort of sophisticated disco sheen that makes it sound simultaneously timeless and completely of the moment. ‘Near Or Far’ is more wistful, proving that Jepsen can make melancholy dance music without sacrificing any of its elegance.

What holds all of this together is her songwriting. Jepsen has always understood that a great pop song can be both immediate and slightly peculiar. She writes melodies that lodge themselves in your head, then fills them with details and emotional turns that reward closer attention. There is a constant sense that another listen might reveal something you missed the first time.

That makes Day and Night feel less like an attempt to chase another blockbuster and more like an artist enjoying the freedom that comes with having already proved herself. She can make the enormous pop anthem, but she can also disappear down a musical side street for three minutes simply because it sounds interesting.

And perhaps that is the most convincing thing about the album. Jepsen has spent years proving that Call Me Maybe and I Really Like You were never the whole story. They were the gateway. The cultural landmarks may always be the songs even a nine-year-old can quote, but the deeper catalogue is where her artistry really reveals itself.

After seeing her live, that feels even clearer. On stage, the hits are enormous, but they sit comfortably alongside songs that demonstrate just how broad her musical world has become. Day and Night captures that same contradiction: familiar enough to make you want to dance immediately, adventurous enough to keep you listening after the obvious hooks have worn off.

Carly Rae Jepsen may have spent more than a decade being underestimated because she makes pop look effortless. Day and Night is another persuasive argument that effortless is not the same thing as simple. Beneath the immaculate melodies and irresistible choruses is an artist still curious about what pop can be – and still finding new ways to make it sparkle.