E=MC²

iTunes Review

Rejuvenated and on top of her game, Mariah Carey follows up 2005’s hugely successful The Emancipation of Mimi with 2008’s E=MC2, an album very similar in sound and content. Mariah’s comeback has taken her deep into contemporary urban and hip-hop territory with few backwards glances. Those hankering after gospel-centric ballads will only have the stirring “I Wish You Well” to satisfy them. Instead, there’s a bevy of ultra-smooth midtempo tracks here, with the teasing “I’m That Chick,” the playfully erotic “Touch My Body,” and the sweetly swinging “O.O.C.” among the standouts. Carey downplays multi-octave vocal fireworks in favor of cooed phrases and rapid-fire word slinging, an approach that fits the restless vibe of tunes like “Migrate” (a club-hopping duet with rapper T-Pain) particularly well. She decks herself out in Jamaican trappings in “Cruise Control” and invokes the lush elegance of disco in “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time.” A flash of anger lights up “Side Effects,” a track rehashing Carey’s long-ago split with husband Tommy Mottola. For the most part, though, the album is warm-hearted and forgiving. Formula? If yes, a winning one.