I was surprised to see the mixed reception for this one... and then I wasn't. Further proof of a deep generational chasm that divides ATRL into two camps; the twentysomething pop sophisticates with 15 to 20 years of top-shelf pop consumption to their name, and an unruly kid crew with Heated Rivalry avatars and tributes to Harry Styles in their signatures. It's not that the latter generation is a lost cause entirely, but they've clearly never heard an "Ariana" โ that is, they've never encountered a voice quite as distinctive as Ariana's. "But I know Ariana! Positions was the first album I bought!" First off, ask for a refund. And no, you don't know Ariana, you know a very stilted and subdued version of the iconic performer. The Ariana of "Petal" is Ariana as Ariana is intended to sound. She very skillfully vacillates between a range of tones; she nasally, then guttural, then grainy, then nasally again, then delicate. (And yes, that's how she's supposed to do it.) She's sultry. She's goofy. She's sounds slightly absurd. She's fully engaged. She's expressive in ways that "technically superior" vocalists just aren't. She is brilliant. You have no idea how brilliant she is. This is the probably purest attempt Ariana has made to harness some of that ineffable charm that made her early work so irresistible. I adore it..