Alessia Cara: Love & Hyperbole.
Alessia Cara shares her journey producing her fourth record Love & Hyperbole in a cozy and intimate pre-release press conference.
photo provided by Universal Music Group’s 1824.
Alessia Cara is a poet of poignant introspection. Her Grammy-winning career began with anthems for the lonely, like the platinum-certified “Here,” a raw ode to social detachment, and the aching “Out of Love,” which lays bare the fragility of fading romance. But now, the Canadian songstress is rewriting her narrative. No longer cloaked in melancholy, Love & Hyperbole—her fourth studio album, released Valentine’s Day—burns brighter than ever with passion, vulnerability, and the dizzying highs of love. “Love isn’t about shrinking yourself,” she reflected. “It’s about expanding—discovering corners of your soul you never knew existed.”
After finally finding a love that she always wanted, the singer’s perspective on the feeling has substantially changed: “I used to think of love as having to sacrifice all the time,” she lamented, “when actually it should expand you and show you parts of yourself that you didn’t know were there.” These experiences have culminated in Alessia Cara’s fourth studio album Love & Hyperbole. Inspired by 60s and 70s classics by Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac, the album bursts with dramatic exaltations of love, aptly represented by the dark maroons on the cover and the fittingly chosen name Love & Hyperbole. Filled with passion, positivity, and hope, the record makes for a stark departure from her previous work.
In this press conference, the Toronto native admitted that this is actually the first time she has ever written songs without fear and negativity, so much so that she found the process challenging. It is easy to imagine someone used to writing about heartbreak and sadness struggling with finding a hopeful, happier voice. Nevertheless, Cara has successfully done so while keeping her unique sensitivity and charm. She confesses to being stubborn and closed off in her songs with respect to love in the past—this time, she’s bold and outgoing, ready to take her chances in finding the one. “Fears are only constellations/Only glowin’ if we make them,” she sings in her second single “(Isn’t it) Obvious.”
For Cara, her personal favorite on the album—and one of the tracks she found easiest to write—is “Fire.” From the lyrics to the breezy guitar riffs on the instrumental, the song perfectly captures the album’s spirit: fearless, alive, and radiantly new:
All the time I used to waste
Always falling on my face
But you’re rushing in my brain like it's nothin’
I'm jumping in head first and
Ooh, I’m on fire
In many ways, Love & Hyperbole is a breakthrough album for the Canadian artist. “It is important for me to be motivated, to set goals and challenge myself,” she explained during the meeting. For one, more than 90% of the record was recorded with live musicians, which Cara believes was the most impactful part of the album making process. Each track even has its own mini-world with unique visuals and aesthetics, documented by the “Made By: Alessia Cara” series on Youtube, which is a testament to her vision and hard work.
The 2017 smash-hit “Stay” singer revealed that 40 tracks were produced in preparation for this album, of which 14 made the cut. When asked a question about her growth during the recording process, Cara responded: “I’m a shy person,” admitting it was difficult for her to go in with a stranger with little to nothing prepared in advance. “Trying new things, saying stupid ideas, letting go of the fear of someone else thinking I’m stupid.” At the end of the day, she hopes that new and old fans alike can appreciate her sonic, lyrical, and personal growth, in all its drama and color.
From the girl who once hid in the shadows of parties to the woman now dancing in the flames of her own making, check out Love & Hyperbole on all streaming platforms and iTunes now.
edited by Kristen Wallace.
photo provided by Universal Music Group’s 1824.
