You’d be forgiven if you thought Selena Gomez & the Scene’s third album in three years, 2011's When the Sun Goes Down, might show signs of a dip in quality control due to cranking out albums so quickly.
You’d be wrong, though, because When the Sun Goes Down is actually an improvement over 2010's Year Without Rain.
Where that record tried to position Gomez as a more serious and adult artist with varying levels of success, here she’s back to mostly being a young and breezy, happy-go-lucky pop singer.
With a couple exceptions, the songs are sassier, lighter, and more fun.
Her vocals are more spirited, the arrangements less reliant on heavy synths, and overall, there’s a more playful feeling to the record that’s more in keeping with her first album.
She bubbles her way through dancefloor-friendly tracks like “Bang Bang Bang” and “That’s More Like It,” smolders a little (on her duet with Pixie Lott “We Own the Night” and "Middle of Nowhere"), and comes on like a convincing disco diva on “Hit the Lights.” The only stumble is the overly earnest empowerment anthem “Who Says,” which comes off a little stiff and out of place.
It’s a tiny speck of a flaw though; the rest is really solid and fun modern pop with sharp hooks and a couple surprises, namely the stomping jam “Whiplash,” which channels Goldfrapp’s electro glam and throws in a charmingly odd spoken word section that for some reason is done with a British-y accent.
It adds some welcome weirdness to an otherwise straightforward record, and shows how easily and successfully she can slip into different personas and styles.
Perhaps a bit too easily, as ultimately, Gomez has yet to stake out an identify all her own: a point driven home in the album’s booklet, which features Gomez in a series of images of her in different guises, from Ann-Margret-style sex kitten to 1930s film star.
She seems to be acting out the songs, more than actually feeling the emotions she’s singing about.
Which is perfectly fine for disposable pop albums, but if she wants to make a real impact, she’ll need to dig a little deeper or stake out her own territory.
That’s for the future, though.
For now, as long as she makes records as good and as much fun as When the Sun Goes Down, everything will be fine.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love You Like a Love SongAntonina Armato, Tim James, Adam Schmalholz | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Bang Bang BangToby Gad, Priscilla Hamilton, Meleni Smith | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Who SaysPriscilla Hamilton, Emanuel Kiriakou | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 4 | We Own the NightToby Gad, Pixie Lott | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Hit the LightsLeah Haywood, Daniel James, Tony Nilsson | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | WhiplashGreg Kurstin, Nicole Morier, Britney Spears | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 30 MB |
| 7 | When the Sun Goes DownStefan Abingdon, Joey Clement, Selena Gomez, Steve Sulikowski | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | My DilemmaAntonina Armato, Tim James, Devrim "DK" Karaoglu | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | That's More Like ItJosh Alexander, Katy Perry, Billy Steinberg | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | OutlawAntonina Armato, Selena Gomez, Tim James, Thomas Armato Sturges | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | Middle of NowhereAmund Björklund, Carmen Michelle Key, Espen Lind, Sandy Wilhelm | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 27 MB |
| 12 | Dices (Who Says) [Spanish Version]Priscilla Hamilton, Emanuel Kiriakou | Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez & the Scene | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 13 | Fantasma De Amor (Ghost Of You; Spanish Version) | Selena Gomez, The Scene | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 14 | A Year Without Rain (Davd Audθ Radio Remix) | Selena Gomez, The Scene | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 15 | Who Says (Bimbo Jones Radio Remix) | Selena Gomez, The Scene | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 22 MB |
| 16 | Whos Says (Dave Audio Radio Remix) | Selena Gomez, The Scene | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 53 mins | 123 MB | |||||
| 53 mins | 415 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Abingdon | Composer, Mixing, Producer |
| 2 | Brooke Adams | Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Josh Alexander | Composer, Engineer, Instrumentation, Producer, Programming |
| 4 | Antonina Armato | Composer |
| 5 | Amund Björklund | Composer |
| 6 | Carlos Castro | Vocal Recording |
| 7 | Joey Clement | Composer |
| 8 | Adam Comstock | Second Engineer |
| 9 | Edgar Cortázar | Spanish Adaptation, Vocal Producer |
| 10 | Toby Gad | Composer, Instrumentation, Mixing, Producer, Programming |
| 11 | Chris Garcia | Digital Editing |
| 12 | Serban Ghenea | Mixing |
| 13 | Andrew Goldstein | Synthesizer |
| 14 | Selena Gomez | Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Selena Gomez & the Scene | Primary Artist |
| 16 | Priscilla Hamilton | Composer |
| 17 | Steve Hammons | Engineer, Mixing |
| 18 | John Hanes | Mixing |
| 19 | Lindsey Harper | Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Leah Haywood | Composer |
| 21 | Jeri Heiden | Art Direction |
| 22 | Ross Hogarth | Engineer |
| 23 | Leyla Hoyle | Vocals (Background) |
| 24 | Steve Jacobi | Photo Production |
| 25 | Daniel James | Composer |
| 26 | Tim James | Composer, Digital Editing |
| 27 | Devrim "DK" Karaoglu | Composer, Producer |
| 28 | Carmen Michelle Key | Composer |
| 29 | Emanuel Kiriakou | Composer, Instrumentation, Original Recording Producer, Producer |
| 30 | Greg Kurstin | Bass, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Producer, Programming |
| 31 | Damien Lewis | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 32 | Espen Lind | Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards |
| 33 | Jon Lind | A&R |
| 34 | Pixie Lott | Composer, Featured Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 35 | Nigel Lundemo | Digital Editing, Vocal Editing |
| 36 | Jimmy Messer | Guitar |
| 37 | Carmen Michelle | Vocal Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 38 | Nicole Morier | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 39 | Francis Murray | Engineer |
| 40 | Tony Nilsson | Composer |
| 41 | Paul Palmer | Mixing |
| 42 | Katy Perry | Composer |
| 43 | Tim Pierce | Guitar |
| 44 | Mark Portmann | Spanish Adaptation, Vocal Editing, Vocal Producer, Vocal Recording |
| 45 | Brian Reeves | Mixing, Vocal Recording |
| 46 | Priscilla Renea | Vocals (Background) |
| 47 | Tim Roberts | Mixing Assistant |
| 48 | Tom Roberts | Mixing Assistant |
| 49 | Rock Mafia | Mixing, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 50 | Scott Roewe | Pro-Tools |
| 51 | Adam Schmalholz | Composer |
| 52 | Phil Seaford | Mixing Assistant |
| 53 | Jesse Shatkin | Engineer |
| 54 | Meleni Smith | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 55 | David Snow | Creative Director |
| 56 | Britney Spears | Composer |
| 57 | Billy Steinberg | Composer, Producer |
| 58 | Nick Steinhardt | Art Direction, Design |
| 59 | Thomas Armato Sturges | Composer, Producer |
| 60 | Steve Sulikowski | Composer |
| 61 | Phil Tan | Mixing |
| 62 | Kate Turning | Photography |
| 63 | Sandy Vee | Keyboards, Mixing, Producer, Vocal Producer |
| 64 | Jon Vella | Programming |
| 65 | Robert Vosgien | Mastering |
| 66 | Cindy Warden | A&R |
| 67 | Sandy Wilhelm | Composer |
| 68 | Howard Willing | Vocal Recording |
| 69 | Noel Zancanella | Instrumentation, Programming |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |