Long time no discuss, everyone! I figured I would kick off this semester’s CDs reviews with a big one. I decided to begin with the person who managed to knock Susan Boyle out of number one and take over the airwaves with her single “Tik Tok.” I’m talking about Ke$ha and I’m here to review her debut album Animal. This album is full of fun and filthy club bangers along with some rather awkward ballads.
From the rock out number “Party at A Rich Dude’s House,” to the opening dance track “Your Love Is My Drug,” Ke$ha manages to mix a healthy combination of singing and rapping to make some pretty impressive dance pop tracks. However her dance pop formula can’t make every song work, especially the track “Backstabber” which is a half singing, half senseless, yelling mess that only manages to make the track irritating. However the hypnotic “Take It Off” more than makes up for it as it mixes a ridiculously catchy beat with endlessly entertaining lyrics.
The thing about Ke$ha is that even though her CD does not hold a “Parental Advisory” warning, you still can’t help but feel a little dirty while listening to her album. For example her second single “Blah Blah Blah” featuring 3OH!3, which has already reached the top ten on billboard, is an account of her relating her sexual fantasies to a man who she wants to stop talking and dance with her. The way in which she offers up that she wants to “dance with no pants on” doesn’t do much for the classy level of the album, but does wonders for the entertainment level. This does make her a little hard to accept as a serious artist though. Even her big ballad “Hungover” is hard to take seriously as she compares her broken heart with the broken bottles on the floor. This coupled with the track “D.I.N.O.S.A.U.R.” where she sings/raps about an old man trying to put the moves on her while she tells him that he needs a CAT Scan and ends with her hitting a cow bell, makes for a good laugh but nothing too serious in the realm of emotional depth.
The only song which appears to be one where Ke$ha really gets serious is on the track “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes.” While it’s rather up-tempo for a song about being broken hearted, it makes much more of an impact with the dance music as the background to reinforce the message of the song. Of course this song is immediately followed by the track “Boots & Boys,” where she describes her two addictions which are fore mentioned in the song title. It completely kills the moment of emotional awareness which is never to be seen again.
Overall, this is a really great pop debut but it does have one hit wonder written all over it. If she can keep up the great dance tracks and keep her obnoxious lyrics from crossing the border from entertaining to annoying, Ke$ha could be around for a long time. Since it’s a great album that could use a little work I’m going to give it a solid eight out of ten pop tarts.
Jeff Payne
Pierce Arrow Blogger
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