The debut full-length album from Fletcher, 2022's
Girl of My Dreams, is a hooky yet emotionally raw self-portrait of the New Jersey-bred singer/songwriter. Known by her last name, Cari Elise Fletcher has come into her own since first grabbing listeners with tracks like 2015's "War Paint" and 2019's "Undrunk." While those songs revealed her knack for transforming her own insecurities and romantic desires into universally relatable pop,
Girl of My Dreams goes deeper. Part of this comes from Fletcher embracing her sexuality and coming to terms with her queer identity -- themes that drove her 2019 EP
You Ruined New York City for Me and which she further develops on
Girl of My Dreams. It's a feeling of revelatory euphoria that drives tracks like "Becky's So Hot" and the luminous pop-punk-meets-EDM of "Her Body Is Bible," the latter of which finds her cooing "I found God the moment that I put my lips on yours." There's also a sense that Fletcher has been through a few bad break-ups and isn't afraid of examining the ways her own behavior may have exacerbated her pain. On "Serial Heartbreaker" she sings, "I'm not the best at breaking up/Too soon to rip the band-aid off/A sucker for the f&$k me up." It doesn't hurt that these moments of unfiltered introspection are matched with infectious, uplifting melodies. Working with longtime executive producer
Malay (
Lorde,
Frank Ocean), as well as collaborators like
Jennifer Decilveo and
Jesse Shatkin, among others, Fletcher coalesces all of the atmospheric vaporwave and clubby electro-pop that marked her previous work. With
Girl of My Dreams Fletcher isn't just yearning for someone to love, she's coming to terms with loving herself. ~ Matt Collar