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Trash Pop pioneer, Ke$ha, released her second full-length album, Warrior, today. Either this girl hasn’t been showing us her full abilities on previous releases or she has been saving it for the ever so important sophomore album because she just KILLS IT here. Whether you love her or hate her, this once thought one trick pony has had staying power, and doesn’t seem to show signs of stopping.
Like any true warrior, this album adapts itself multiple times, changing form, jumping high, ducking down, taking it slow, and aggressively attacking. Because of this, it’s impossible to classify this album under one genre other than the large pop umbrella. Ke$ha uses her talent for songwriting (she was an accomplished songwriter before her solo album), to explore a myriad of influences resulting in a pop music masterpiece. Who knew this late entry could be a serious contender for pop album of the year?
Ke$ha starts the album off strong with the title track. “Warrior” is a battle cry to all of her “animals” and brings the heat and energy that you’ll find all over this album. We’re then taken to the album’s first single, the brilliantly melodic “Die Young”. This song is classic Ke$ha and, in terms of first singles, it rivals Kesha’s early single “Tik Tok”. It is also the first time the trash pop goddess has featured guitar in her songs, which begins the growth that is seen all over the album. Another song reminiscent of Ke$ha’s first album is “All That Matters(The Beautiful Life)” but on this sexy dance track, Ke$ha takes on a darker tone.
Up next is one of my favorite songs on the album. On the early leak,“C’Mon”, Kesha’s infections melodies invite you on a wild journey with her. “Thinking of You”, with its aggressive drums, is an angry revenge track shortly followed by sure to be fan favorite and anthem, “Crazy Kids” which highlights the voice we’ve rarely heard in such a raw form. This girl is showing us she has a voice to back up her hyped up ego. In fact, some of the best tracks on the album include this version on the songstress. “Love into the Light”, “Wonderland”, and the song about having sex with a ghost, “Supernatural” all give the listener a sense of the range this vocalist seems to have been hiding.
Speaking of interesting voices, I was surprised to hear Iggy Pop on the album’s upbeat “Dirth Love” duet. I could have done without this one personally, but it does feature yet another side of this multi-dimensional artist.
Overall this album takes on many faces, it would be impossible to say you don’t like a single song on this album, as there really is an offering for anyone who appreciated pop music. For hardcore “animals” there is a deluxe version with 4 incredible bonus tracks. Sometimes I don’t understand why some of the bonus tracks don’t make the cut. “Gold Trans Am” and “Out Alive” are two of my favorites from the ENTIRE offering. Side note: I would just like to mention how painfully annoying it is to type the ‘$’ in Ke$ha.
Ke$ha ‘Die Young’ Music Video
Album Rating: 4 out 5 Stars
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- Tags: album review, ke$sha, warrior
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Raph
December 4th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
I agree with your review. I’m sick and tired of people who don’t take the time to actually listen to Ke$ha’s music before they say she sucks. She’s nothing less than a great song writer and this album is a pop masterpiece. I can understand that someone doesn’t like pop music, but I don’t see how someone who likes pop could hate this record. Thinking of You and Love Into The Light are my personal 2 favorites.
Matt
December 4th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Love Into The Light is great Raph! I’ll have to admit i went up and down with how i felt about the album. I had to listen to it for a few days before writing because I’m usually too quick to judge artists like Kesha but by the 3rd or 4th full listen, I was hooked.
Also I can’t stress enough about the deluxe version, the bonus tracks are worth it alone.
DouggSeven
December 4th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
Why release such a mediocre lead single if the rest of the album is so good?
Give me something to play again and again after my first listen…not this crap that sounds like she’s playing it safe, bland, and forgettable.
EvChemical
December 5th, 2012 at 12:22 am
I guess they went with the familiar to get people’s attention again. That’s the best I can come up with for logic. I loved the album, Supernatural and Dirty Love are the stand out tracks after the first listen for me. The sound like the biggest leaps from the Animal+Cannibal era.
DavidC
December 5th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Hey boys. There’s some really blatant spelling and grammatical errors in this piece that trip up the reader. In fact, I find many of your posts would benefit from an editor’s eye. That said, I really enjoy the site – keep up the good work.
Oh, and the new Ke$ha album is truly jammin’. ;)
Joanne
December 10th, 2012 at 2:40 pm
I love Die Young but it really is the weakest song on the album. That’s saying a lot of course. I see this album becoming huge next year. It’s going to appeal to a much wider demographic than Animal did. I really hope to see either Last Goodbye or Love Into the Light as singles later on. They will definitely expand her listener base.
I knew Kesha (you don’t need the $ sign because that’s her real name) wasn’t a one trick pony when I started listening to her unreleased stuff that covers pop, rock, country and electro. Few singers can pull off diverse genres with ease like she can.