review 1: 83

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1) Magical Thinking - 10/10
I ADORE this song. Listening to its instrumental feels like standing underneath an ice cold waterfall, it feels so REFRESHING, so crisp, so, well, magical. And the lyrics really match that tone in an unexpected way as Camila sings about moving on from a failed relationship and finding herself in the process. I really love how hyperbolic and slightly (once again) 'magical' the metaphors are that are used throughout the song, with storms, the sun, and alternate realities being referenced. This is a strong yet elegant and fluid opener that really makes you feel READY to set sail on the journey that is MD.
Standout Lyric: "I find what I've been looking for in myself / In the season of magical thinking"

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2) Tarot - 10/10
This already sounds like a fucking smash like are you HEARING this beat, are you LISTENING to these lyrics, are you GRASPING this concept? A TAROT CARD-themed love song? SEXUAL LIBERATION? LYRICS ABOUT PLANETS AND SHIT? FUCK. YEAH. Okay, I just had to get that out of the way first. This track contains one of the many instances on MD that see Camila refrencing the moon in some way and tbh I live for it. Camila and the moon go wayyy back (homegirl's been telling the moon about her secrets since the Fifth Harmony days), we love CONSISTENCY and a recurring theme! 
Standout Lyric: "We change lovers with the phases of the moon"

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3) Cash In (feat. Jennie Kim & Lisa) - 9/10
UGH, this track is just so much FUN. There are many feminist moments on MD but out of all of them, this has to be the most fun one. And a BIG part of that is thanks to Jennie Kim and Lisa, otherwise also known as one half of the South Korean foursome Blackpink. They are bringing the SPUNK (omg this sounded so Caucasian cgvvnb), the "swag" (I'm cringing as I'm typing this XFCGH), they are serving NONCHALANCE, UNBOTHEREDNESS, just pure, unfiltered FUN. And that Lisa verse? When I tell you CL is FUMING in her dungeon cell in the YG building. Honestly, don't take this the wrong way, but Camila almost feels kind of like a feature on here despite this being on her album. But in a good way! Her parts keep the whole thing together and the rather simple, straight-to-the-point lyricism she displays on this track is a nice change of pace considering all the emotionally complex lyrics that precede and succeed this track within the context of the entire album. A music video for this would be everything, especially if the easthetic is the same as that of the GORGEOUS booklet page that accompanies this track. Ugh, I'm gagging.
Standout Lyric: "He's ringing my phone / 'La-la-la-Lisa, I'm so la-la-la-la-la-lonely'"

 

4) Boy - 8/10
Oh, Boy. Whoever has Mila writing all these songs about them needs to like reconsider their life choices, cause like the level of infidelity... far too much. You gotta give the man props for inspiring all these bops tho. Boy has a BEAT - yes, a BEAT in all capitals, not just a regular beat - that gives it this perfectly ominous, "bad girl who's about to woman up and show a boy what's what" type of energy which I LOVE. The lyrics are not entirely as badass or sexy as the instrumental could suggest, instead presenting us with a narrative of a boy that had the nerve to cheat on Mila  - who is now better than ever while said boy is wasting his time with another girl who doesn't even truly love him. And honestly? This story is just as badass and intriguing - perhaps even moreso - as a "bad girl" theme would have been as it casts Camila as a confident woman who knows her worth. This track is all around refreshing and a true standout on this album, especially production-wise.
Standout Lyric: "A face meant for the silver screen / But you aren't her gold / You're just an amenity"

 

5) Heart Stop - 7/10
Honestly, I really like this song but I just have to say that Midnight Stop outstopped, sorry! I think a big part of why I don't feel this song as much as some of the others comes down to the fact that musically, this song falls into the semi-acoustic / "organic" category that I am admittedly not the biggest fan of (there are some exceptions but in generally I tend to gravitate more towards to "unorganic" productions when it comes to pop songs, I'm a basic bitch like that sozzles). To me, this song feels like Camila's big dramatic, theatrical moment on the album with the grand emotional lyrics and I can defenitely see other people STANNING for this song. I also really like how its lyrics are consistent with those of Magical Thinking on some level as Miss Mila once again talks about how she's lost her lover but found herself ("But the girl I see in the mirror / She's become my best friend"). It adds a further layer of complexity to the lyrical content of this song and Idk I just love me some introspective Cami Ig!
Standout Lyric: "Roads can measure time and distance / But never a love like mine"

 

6) Perfectly Orchestrated - 8/10
Perfectly Orchestrated is a special track in a lot of ways - it's one of the few outright midtempo tracks on MD, it's written AND produced by none other than Komrade Karla herself, and it has a great twist to offer at the end. Camila explicitly singing about a female love interest is one thing that makes this track one of the most intriguing on MD, another one is her songwriting which really shines on this track, in part thanks to the stripped down production. Basically, Camila's completely overwhelmed and freaked out by how perfect - TOO perfect - this new person is that she's with. However, that's just the BASIC foundation of the song, all the lyrics built on top of that paint a far more emotionally complex picture as Mila talks about how she's being held back by her own insecurities and how she's scared that this "perfectly orchestrated" person will fall out of love with her once they get to know each other better. It's one of Camila's most vulnerable, honest moments on the album and if the melodies and production of this track just captivated me a lil more I would definitely give this a ten!
Standout Lyric: "It's the idea of you / You're too perfectly orchestrated"

 

7) Besos (feat. Maluma) - 8/10
Even independent, ambitious women that have no time for the fake and that just want that real love that makes their Heart Stop (hihi) get lonely sometimes. And when they do, they get themselves some Besos (and not just on the mouth). In Camila's case, she gets hers from none other than Maluma (with whom she had a Twitter feud like a month ago but we don't talk about that here in this Cuban [I wish] household) who assists her on this brooding, dark, sensual midtempo "get mine, get yours" pursuit. I don't mean to rehash tired "Spanish is so sexy!" clichés but - IT REALLY FUCKING IS. The only thing that I've gotten - aside from a few words and phrases here and there thanks to my Latin classes back in school - is that Maluma compares Camila to a game in one of his verses and anticipates her next move or whatever and honestly? HOT. This song is an understated, fluid, elegant, dark slice of erotica and that gritty electronic chorus and of course the beautiful SPANISH (!!!) make it a standout track.
Standout Lyric: "You're captive to my touch"

 

8) Part-Time Lover - 9/10
This instrumental? YES. YES. YES! This title and the way it's incoporated into the lyrics? OH, 100% YES AND AGAIN, YES. This song just does so many things right. The chorus recalls [TRIGGER WARNING: #nonCALcanonreference] that of Hilary Duff's Play with Fire from her 2007 album Dignity with its lyrics, and as far as pop music references go, this one's very well-done. Part-Time Lover is the stuff dreams of pop perfection are made of (once again, that CHORUS) while still hitting all the right buttons emotionally and lyrically - as well as giving us a taste of Cabello the Rapper with that unexpected bridge section! - and as such, it perfectly embodies all that is GOOd and RIGHT with this album. I can tell this will be one of those underrated, hidden bangers so I won't get my hopes up for this one to see a single release, but you never know! (Oh, and for some reason, I see this song as a spiritual sibling to Midnight Stop - both on a lyrical and sonical level. Are we in for a DOUBLE FEATURE mv? Fingers crossed!
Standout Lyric: "Part-time lover / But I've been putting in the hours"

 

9) Girls (Solo) - 7/10
The arrangement for this song is just beautiful in the truest sense of the word - the Chinese (I think?) influence in the synth patterns and the instrumentation, the elegant midtempo flow, just the magic feel to the entire thing. Pairing this type of arrangement with lyrics about female self-empowerment and embracing one's womanhood might not be the most obvious thing in the world, but for the most part, it really works. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of the outro with respect to the lyrics (aside from "I know you wish you were one of us girls"), but everything else is simple and well-put from a lyrical standpoint. This song was our first (re-)introduction to Camila and the first taste of what would be MD, so it holds its fair share of nostalgic value, but there are loads of newer and better things on this album that dim this track's shine a bit. Nonetheless, it definitely will never be skipped when listening through MD in its entirety!
Standout Lyric: "Where you've been, where you'd go / You don't need to testify / Much like your beauty leave it be / Allow them to theorize"

 

10) Crush (with Troye Sivan) - 9/10
I've already talked about this track in my review for Troye's album last week. The only "new" thing I can tell you that YES, it's still good. Great, actually. While MD has - in my opinion - better moments to offer sonically, Crush does rank as one of the best moments of Camila's songwriting on the record (which is saying something considering this record is literally COATED, EMBALMED and TINTED in clever songwriting). From the simple hook that ends the chorus ("Say you've got a crush") to pretty much everything else, Camila sounds as stylish and casually poetic as ever on this chill ode to a lover that has a crush... on someone else! (welp!) Also, Camila's lunar fixation continues as we get a second reference to the phases of the moon (and our 4th moon reference overall). If Valentino is anything to go by, Camila is part of the Sisters of the Moon™ so it makes perfect sense for this album to be filled with mentions of all things lunar!
Standout Lyric: "To the touch you're familiar / Bodies synchronized to the phases of the moon / But when it comes to the mind / We're foreigners"

 

11) Midnight Stop - 9/10
OKAY FIRST OF ALL I LIVE FOR THIS FUCKING INSTRUMENTAL AND IF I HAD KNOWN OF ITS EXISTENCE PRIOR TO COMING ACROSS IT ON HERE I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY CLAIMED IT AS MY OWN (UNTIL I WOULD HAVE, WELL, STUMBLED UPON IT ON THIS ALBUM THAT IS NNN). THAT CHORUS. HELLO. Okay, deep breaths. Let's unpack this. Camila explores the role of The Other Woman on this track and also gives us some more of #Thotmila (ugh we love her). The lyrics offer a new, interesting take on the narrative of a toxic relationship and really like how simple and clean-cut they are, with the chorus being my favorite part stylistically. Honestly? Not much more to say, this track is easily one of my favorites!
Standout Lyric: "On your way back home / Back from her / Tell me / Can you make a midnight stop?"

 

12) Jealous (feat. Frank Ocean) - 7/10
Next up we have Camila's own little [TRIGGER WARNING: #nonCALcanonreference] Blank Space moment: Jealous, her response to the Maluma Twitter feud / #JealousCamila situation. Honestly, the only obvious link I see between this song and the feud is, well, the title, "Jealous". But I guess since that word is so prominent throughout the entire track and the theme of jealousy dominates almost all of the lyrics, you could argue that this song is indeed Camila's tongue-in-cheek spin on the #JealousCamila hashtag. But lbr: Who cares about ANY of that when you have Frank Ocean on the track (I wanna take a swim in HIS ocean if you catch my drift zugfhj okay) AND that AMAZING instrumental. God, the BASS that has, the CLEARANCE that has, the RHYTHM that has, the INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS that has. Fuck. A bop? OH YES. However, I wouldn't rank this song as one of the BEST BEST on the record cause lyrically, it isn't as strong as many of the other offerings on here are. And that's okay, it's a bop and those sometimes just HAVE to be repetitive af! I definitely don't mind hihi
Standout Lyric: "There's no way she can if I can't have you"

 

13) Blue Tuesday (feat. Lorde) - 7/10
13 tracks in and Camila decides to hit us with a fucking Lorde feature. I LIVE for this album, it's just so opulent and ANTI-MINIMALIST and collab-happy, like YES, give me all of that. But anyway, this one's a really, really pretty song with a chorus that's as close to poetry as pop choruses can get. Miss Ella and Miss Mila feel like a very natural, organic pairing in song, at least I myself feel like their tones go together really well as they're both so distinct and unique and raspy on their own. What I like most about the lyrics on this one is the PROGRESSION that they chronicle: The track starts out with Mila lamenting her loneliness, only for her (and Ella) to find strength in their loneliness (or newfound freedom/possibility to love anew depending on how you look at it) in the end. You could say their loneliness ain't killing them no more! And in that sense, this song also gives us yet another moment of girl power, even though no themes of feminism or sisterhood are explicitly mentioned. Wow, their minds ngl. The only reason I'm not giving this a score higher than seven is the fact that - at least for me - this song gets a little bit lost in the shuffle, mostly due to its understated and not very memorable instrumental. Then there's also the last line of Camila's refrain which leaves me somewhat confused, but that might just be my general lack of comprehension skills! I think this song is absolutely beautiful but I also think that if Lorde and Camila ever have a second go at a collaboration (perhaps on Scarlet?), they could top this one with ease.
Standout Lyric: "A night in another stranger's eyes"

 

14) Valentino (feat. Strawberry Blonde) - 10/10
WHO would slap us in the face with a BOP of this magnitude 14 tracks deep into their album tracklisting? ONLY FUCKING CAMILA KARLA CABELLO. Let me just tell you, the COMMUNIST jumped out on this one. Komrade Karla is well and alive as she REBUKES the material things her lover buys her. Her love ain't cost a thing, as a fellow Latina once sang. Assisting her on this quest against the stronghold all things shiny and Valentino can have over someone are none other than Emma Roberts and Selena Gomez aka Strawberry Blonde - who have recently revealed to the world that they've officially graduated from being Sisters of the Moon to being Lovers, congrats on that! While they don't bring any explicit queer energy to the lyrics, they sure do sound FABULOUS as disco queens alongside Camila on this fun, uplifting dance track that has equal amounts of glitter and strong, razor-cut lyricism to offer. A candidate for a future single release? You bet!
Standout Lyric: "I've been doing a lot of self reflection / In your diamond rings and what they tell me"

 

15) Dignity - 6/10
Honestly? This song is not bad, like at all. It's super catchy and the lyrics are pretty much up to par with the average lyrical quality of this album (which is, um, PRETTY high). But do you ever listen to a song and you like know that, objectively, it's good and likeable but it just doesn't hit you for some reason? That's me with this one. I like the instrumental a lot, same with the lyrics, but when compared to everything that came before it, this track just falls a little flat. I will say though that lyrically, this song is fairly inventive, offering us a new take on the themes of knowing your worth and (female) independence that have been present throughout the standard edition of the album. Poor Dignity, I think I would give this a way higher score if it was part of a different album. But on an album as great as MD, it just unfortunately comes off as one of the weaker tracks, at least to me.
Standout Lyric: "I'm just the girl no man wants me to be"

 

16) The Ride (with Tinashe) - 5/10
The instrumental for this ain't included alongside the others on Google Drive, I don't remember how it goes and I also just cannot be bothered to go back in the thread to search for the single release so fcgjvhb welp! Lemme just focus on the lyrics for this one while I cook up a SNATCHING beat in my mind, okay? Okay, let go! I don't have to be a psychic to see (MD LYRIC REFERENCE) that this track is by far the simplest and also (judging solely from the lyrics) one of the shortest on the record. But then it's also somewhat repetitive. Like Idk if I'm seeing things or if there's been a mistake in printing but the lyrics in first verses and the first chorus are the exact same. I imagine they're sung in different melodies tho, obviously. Hm, honestly, this song does have its beautiful moments (it is part of MD after all, or its Encore-exclusive edition to be exact) - and the concept of a Tinashe and Camila collab in itself is already AMAZING - but it doesn't really move me that much. Idk, I feel like if it wasn't tagged onto the album, I wouldn't really miss it, you know? Considering the incredible HEIGHTS Camila has bestowed upon my worrthless queer body with this album, this song unfortunately feels more disappointing than it perhaps would if included on a difference album. I hope this made sense, it sure did in my head. CFVGCB but yeah, this track has to be my least favorite. Sorry, there had to be ONE.
Standout Lyric: "It's in the stars / We're destined to collide"

 

Trinity: Magical Thinking, Tarot, Valentino
Bottom Three: Dignity, The Ride, Girls (honestly the latter is way above this tier quality-wise but I had to put something here so we could have a bottom three [bottom two just doesn't have the same ring to it and would probably evoke different, um, associations for some people] so there you have it DON'T LYNCH ME)
Production: 9/10 (pretty top-notch throughout aside from a few production moments that I personally don't agree with hihi)
Packaging/Visuals - 10/10 (I got photo card #1 and poster #2 aka the BEST combo, anyone who doesn't agree is HOMOPHOBIC and probably calls Sehun a "f*gg*t" on Weibo)
Effort - 10/10 (I mean)