“New album on the way…but here’s something to hold yah over till then.”

A year after releasing one of the most satisfying pop records of the decade, Carly Rae Jepsen followed up her quiet 2015 acclaim with Emotion Side B – a collection of songs that didn’t make the cut on her last record but still somehow sound better than almost anything currently playing on pop radio.

Ever since her one-hit-wonder fame of 2012, Jepsen has been unobtrusively rebranding herself as something of an underground pop icon. Her fervent core fan base reached cloud nine with the release of Emotion, transforming the perception of Jepsen and making clear that the best may be yet to come. After scrapping a folk-inspired follow-up to Kiss in favor of an 80s-infused explosion, it would seem that nothing is outside the realm of possibility.

To be fair, Jepsen fans have been spoiled these past two years – two stellar releases, a massive world tour, appearances on everything from Grease: Live to SNL with the theme song to last year’s Full House reboot thrown in for good measure. Perhaps that’s what makes the possibility of another record so enticing – it’s clearly Carly Rae’s time to shine. Or maybe we’re just greedy. Either way, here’s hoping for another dose of pop medicine in 2017.

by Kiel Hauck

Kiel Hauck is the editor in chief at It’s All Dead. Over the past decade, he has been a contributor for multiple online and print publications and was most recently an editor at PopMatters. Kiel currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and their imaginary pet, Hand Dog. You can follow him on Twitter.