Review Summary: Sugar-free Kim.
Kim Petras is no stranger to dance music. When she's not crooning over modern r&b or flexing on hip-hop tinged electropop, she's going in on a bangin' 4x4 beat. Sometimes it's tech-y, like on
TOFTL, sometimes it's disco-y, like on
Clarity's “Sweet Spot” or the “Malibu” and “Coconuts” singles, and sometimes it's progressive and moody like on “Heart to Break.” So what makes
Slut Pop so different?
It has zero character.
Kim is no stranger to sexual lyrics either (“Death By Sex,” “Do Me”), but she takes an explicit approach on
Slut Pop that just doesn't work. Body-positive and sex-positive content is laudable, and can be served by camp, but the lyrics here feel performative to the point of insincerity. It certainly doesn't help that the EP's producer, Dr. Luke, has been accused of sexual assault by Kesha and is currently embroiled in a legal battle with her over the rights to her music. But even without this context, the lyrics feel plastic, like the beats accompanying them—over-exaggerated to make some sort of point that is never actually made...
Speaking of beats, let's talk about those for a minute, shall we?
Dr. Luke's productions have always taken up a decent bit of space, but still mesh quite well with Kim's vocal style, creating an interplay that gives the music a lot of charm. On
Slut Pop, the beats take up nearly all the space, relegating their star to sheer guest vocalist levels. Kim's fun personality and limited but unique vocal range are what make her music so memorable, and this EP loses sight of that almost entirely, trying and failing to use campy tech-house in support of a new musical direction.
The closer provides a much-needed break from things, with slightly more creative lyrics as well as a flirtation with color and melody near the halfway mark. A shameless yet highly listenable rip-off of Discovery-era Daft Punk, it unfortunately fades out just as quickly as it gets interesting. But even if the closer had kept things up a bit longer, it wouldn't come close to saving the EP. Regressive, boring, and flavorless,
Slut Pop is easily the biggest disappointment of the year so far. It might make folx at the 18+ club want to party 'till they die, but it's truly a blight on the modern pop landscape.
