Review Summary: 180 without a 180
Let’s talk about
Rainbow for a second. Kesha’s third album saw her entering a new phase of her career, one with much less emphasis on the “party girl” persona she built up for so many years. Instead of the usual dance-pop fare, elements of soft rock, country, and southern rock made their way into her identity - mostly on the heels of some intense controversy around her personal life. Regardless, it was pretty bold of her to go into a more musically conservative direction, adorned with much more class and dignity than how she started out. The singer we once imagined would be drinking bottles of jack behind the dumpster was now belting out to emotionally draining ballads and rowdy rock tunes, and it lead to what many would consider a pretty stunning reinvention for this volatile starlet. The overtly sexual and raunchy tones were gone. The awkward allusions (hell, they weren’t even allusions) to one-night stands and partying until the break of dawn were gone. This may not have been a full 180-degree shift, but it was pretty damn close to it. And the best part is that Kesha’s voice was incredibly refined compared to her past works. On a technical level, she had proven that she could stack up against the most acclaimed names in the pop world with her strong vibrato and soaring powerhouse wails. But most importantly, this is a voice that sounds as though it’s experienced life. It’s the voice of a singer who’s acknowledged her rocky past and wants to remain steadfast and strong for her future endeavors and recordings. I love how she balances her wild party side and her intimate personal side so carefully, and yet sounds so genuine and natural with both identities. Wanna know why? Because both of those identities are just one identity:
her identity. There’s no poker face or manipulation here… just Kesha. And now she sounds like she’s come full circle from her origin point.
Wait, was I supposed to be talking about Miley Cyrus? Oh. Ok.
Alright, so apply everything I said up there to Miley’s newest album
Younger Now, but take out any part where I mentioned personality, identity, or any notion of being genuine. Also, bring that score down to a 1.5/5 because Miley’s a vastly less charming and likeable performer and singer and her presence makes my skin crawl. Also - based on photos and videos of her performances - if her arms were any skinnier, I feel like I could create makeshift spears out of them and start chucking them at random people on the street.
