Following the lyrical curves, R&B coos and stellar production, it’s a starkly heavy moment that feels like a throwback to a bygone era of power ballads for vocalists of her calibre.

Similarly, Andrew Unterberger from Billboard summarized Caution as being "a resolutely mid tempo album", praising the production for being "uniform but not stagnant" in its "lush chillness and steady trending".

[20] Within his review, Unterberger took note of the "incredible roster of producers" credited on the album, describing them as "bending their trademark sonics" to fit into Carey's "pop-n-B comfort zone".

Winston Cook-Wilson from Spin described the album's production as being the apotheosis of "trends in contemporary R&B music, absent its glitchier, experimental tendencies";[21] he did cite the track "Giving Me Life" as a notable exception to this rule.

[15] Nick Smith from MusicOMH felt that Carey was "at her most ethereal and reflective"[23] on Caution, commenting that its overall narrative focused on the relationship the singer has with herself.

[26] As noted by the critic Sal Cinquemani in a review for Slant Magazine, "beneath Mariah’s nonchalant delivery and kitschy patois... belies a heaviness that's perhaps informed by the song's apocalyptic source material".

[28] Its lyrics tell the story of a woman seeking safety and security in her potential partner's promises of unconditional love, with Carey viewing "romance with an open-eyed caginess".

[29] The title-track "Caution" is a "sleek, pop-R&B hybrid",[22] presenting Carey "on the amber traffic light; vulnerable and tentative, yet honest and hopeful about embarking on a new journey".

[30] "A No No" is a "jagged, jazzy" hip hop track which "channels the spirit...and cadences...of TLC's "No Scrubs" while Carey exterminates "snakes in the grass" before musing on "the fact that no is the same across languages" in the song's bridge.

[32] "Giving Me Life", featuring Slick Rick and Blood Orange, is a psychedelia-inspired track that sees Carey admit that "a summertime love has her thinking back to being 17 and "feeling myself like I'm Norma Jeane".

[33] Lasting six minutes and 8 seconds, "she entices a lover to follow her "on another tangent" within a "big, dusky [musical] landscape"[34] which eventually "dissolves into woozy, guitar-laced spaciousness"[33] towards the end of the song.

"One Mo' Gen" is a "bedroom anthem" that "evokes 90's R&B without sounding dated";[35] it sees Carey "throb with desire" over her and her lover's sexual chemistry.

[36] The Timbaland-produced "8th Grade" is an "old-school R&B"[35] song where Carey "coos over crisp digital fingersnaps and mentholated synths",[33] expressing an angst towards her lover's motivations.

The Gunna-assisted "Stay Long Love You" weaves "retro influences into a modern sound palette" containing heavy trap inflections, with Carey expressing desire through "a slightly quicker tempo and party vibe".

[41] On November 16, 2018, Carey and American singer Ty Dolla Sign performed "The Distance" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

[43] On May 1, 2019, Carey performed the album's second single "A No No" at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards along with a medley of "Always Be My Baby", "Emotions", "We Belong Together" and "Hero".

[56] "The Distance", which features American singer Ty Dolla Sign, succeeded it as the second promotional single from the album on October 18, 2018.

[67] Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone summarised the record as being "pure hip-hop-leaning pop bliss",[68] praising Carey's ability to deliver "an honest album, full of truths" through a "slow-burning R&B sound".

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote that Carey's [themes of] "flirtatious enticement, celebration, reminiscence, perseverance, rejection" were "highly energized".