Mabel “About Last Night…” Album Review

About Last Night… (Apple Music Edition)

Mabel

• Genre: Pop
• Release Date: 2022-07-15
• Explicitness: explicit
• Country: UK
• Track Count: 22
• A Polydor Records Release; ℗ 2022 Mabel McVey, under exclusive licence to Universal Music

The concept album “About Last Night…” recounts the development of a party from arrival to romantic tension to break-up and ultimate redemption. In that regard, it resembles Lorde’s “Melodrama” in that it uses this ad hoc framework as a springboard for the exploration of love, lust, confidence, and sexuality.

However, unlike Lorde, Mabel isn’t interested in developing her own sound; instead, this music is steadfastly imitative rather than constantly innovative, enlisting a plethora of renowned producers SG Lewis, Jax Jones, Raye.

‘About Last Night…’ sounds like such a great leap forward from Mabel’s last album, ‘High Expectations’, which was steeped in an EDM club sound that’s gone a bit out of fashion since we stopped actually going to the club for a year, and started getting all nostalgic for clubs we’d never been to because we weren’t born yet.

Album Cover Art

Feeling herself on the cover artwork of the album is Mabel who is scantily covered in a light, pink, sleeveless top. We can also spot the romance between the wind and her hair as she strikes a sultry pose for the cam. But taking another close look, this almost feels like a still shot of someone in motion, of someone dancing. This dancefloor vibe and confident energy is also what she tried to bring on the album.

Tracks and Features

With its 90s house bassline and inspirational lyrics (“they can’t beat you down, baby you’re that bitch”), “Let Them Know” is without a doubt the album’s standout track. But there are also other treats in this box, like “Animal,” a song about confidence that encourages being like an animal, and “Shy,” a song about confidence that encourages not being shy. The album’s second half exhibits a decline in quality, especially for the song “Let Love Go,” which has a disturbing falsetto line and a cameo from Lil Tecca.

The catchy bait-and-switch song “Crying on the Dance Floor” talks about finding someone who is “wife material,” “knowing your worth,” and not crying on the dance floor. It has the potential to be anthemic, but Mabel simply lacks the vocal power to give it that scream-it-at-your-thirty enthusiasm, so it ends up sounding a little flat.

‘Take Your Name’, which combines strings and woozy layers of vocals reminiscent of Ariana Grande, show some raw vulnerability with Mabel singing: “I was ready to take your name”. By the time the party comes to an end and it’s morning already, there’s the question of ”what now?” on the aptly titled “When The Party’s Over.” This wrap-up to a whirlwind night could be a metaphor for any exciting chapter of life coming to a close.

The Stargate produced “Overthinking” is one of the few moments where Mabel’s mask cracks to show a more vulnerable side, detailing her cyclical patterns of negative thoughts and harmful actions. Guest vocalist 24kGoldn complements Mabel well, and the Stargate production builds to a cathartic chorus, contrasting glistening keys with fuzzy bass synth stabs.

The album’s strongest song, “LOL,” a swaggering put-down tune propelled by percussionist synths and a crushing kick drum, serves as Mabel’s album’s finale.

Tracks

NO	Title	Artist	Time
1	Let Them Know	Mabel	3:02
2	Good Luck	Mabel, Jax Jones & Galantis	4:04
3	Overthinking	Mabel & 24kGoldn	3:33
4	About Last Night… (Intro)	Mabel	0:34
5	Animal	Mabel	3:01
6	Let Them Know	Mabel	2:28
7	Shy	Mabel	3:17
8	Definition	Mabel	3:12
9	Good Luck	Mabel, Jax Jones & Galantis	3:55
10	Take Your Name (Interlude)	Mabel	1:17
11	Let Love Go (feat. Lil Tecca)	Mabel	2:53
12	Overthinking	Mabel & 24kGoldn	2:54
13	Crying On The Dance Floor	Mabel	3:23
14	I Love Your Girl	Mabel	3:09
15	When The Party’s Over	Mabel	2:55
16	LOL	Mabel	3:32
17	I Wish (feat. Mabel)	Joel Corry	3:02
18	Deal Or No Deal	Mabel	3:01
19	Let Love Go (Acoustic)	Mabel	2:59
20	Toxic (Acoustic)	Mabel	3:06
21	Overthinking (Slow And Reverb)	Mabel	3:38
22	Crying On The Dance Floor (Calm String Version)	Mabel	3:39

Album Theme

On this project, she’s managed to turn a lack of fixed identity into a strength, seamlessly flowing between styles to follow the changing tastes of her audience. If ‘About Last Night…’ has a theme, it’s not being at a party: it’s being confident, or at least looking like you are.

Then again, it’s not about confidence, per se—not about what it feels like to be confident, or about the challenges and opportunities of exploring that side of yourself. It’s not expressly about anything.

Production Credits

For this album, Mabel enlisted a plethora of renowned producers including Stargate, SG Lewis, Jax Jones and Raye, amongst others.

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