Animal

There are A LOT of albums that are being released or rumoured to be released this year that I’m almost dying with anticipation to hear. Since my plan of reviewing all the new albums I got last winter never worked (I will sort that out at some point), I figured I should get the ball rolling with this task instead.
The first of this year’s awaited albums was released a few days ago, and I’m sorry to say that we’re not off to a great start.

I have to point out before I get right into this, I AM a fan of Ke$ha. Last year someone pointed me in the direction of around thirty or so demos that had thankfully leaked. I was already (like the rest of the world it seems) enjoying TiK ToK, so naturally I was curious.

I’d much rather be reviewing those demos. One of Ke$ha’s biggest criticisms right now seems to be that people just aren’t at all charmed by her trashy, “look at me I’m so drunk, isn’t it hilarious” thing that she’s got going on. I’ll admit that I am, but there are plenty of demos that expand her personality ever so slightly. Unfortunately, this is where debut album Animal falls flat straight away.

I’m not usually one to hold grudges, but only four of those demos have made it to the final album, the aforementioned TiK ToK, the cheeky Boots & Boys, bitchy Backstabber and bonus track V.I.P. The rest of the album is entirely new songs, produced by those behind most of Britney Spears, Lily Allen, P!nk and Katy Perry’s recent output. That’s a good thing, right? Wrong.

The album opens with Your Love Is My Drug, which starts with Ke$ha’s trademark rap style vocals. It’s a decent pop song as far as crafting pop songs go, channelling Katy Perry in the chorus. But it’s nothing new, and lacks any originality to elevate it above the ten thousand other songs we heard last summer that sounded exactly like this (it even refers to a heartbeat being similar to an 808 drum like we haven’t heard THAT before). The only redemption is ending, but again this also sounds way too similar to the way songs like Ur So Gay. Not a great start in terms of carving any kind of personality.

Next is current single, TiK ToK. I don’t really need to say anything about this. We’ve all heard it. It’s the perfect party song. It’s stupid, fun and makes you feel dirty in just the right way. And the ridiculous cameo from P Diddy is completely worth it.

Take It Off starts very promising. The stolen chant is immediately recognisable (what exactly it is from actually eludes me right now, but trust me, you know it). But the rest of the song falls completely flat. Ke$ha’s vocals are understandably of the “love it or hate it” variety, but this song is one of the few times where it actually annoys me. Certain parts sound way too Nineties and that is NEVER a good thing. It’s neither catchy nor relevant in any way.

And back to Katy Perry again with Kiss N Tell. The title says it all. This is more or less the sequel to Hot N Cold. But there is far too much happening musically. The chorus is bloated and sounds like something may have malfunctioned when it was being recorded. Aside from that, nothing incredible lyrically or vocally and if you’ve heard Hot N Cold, you’ll want to stay away from this so as to not ruin it.

Stephen happens to be the most disappointing moment of the album. It starts incredibly, with a wonderful folk/gospel tinged introduction. But after that we are falsely lured into a plea for the guy in question to give in and return her call. It completely goes against the image she has been trying to create. There’s nothing wrong with showing a more vulnerable side, but singing lines like “I’m feeling pathetic, I can’t take rejection” and “Don’t you think I’m pretty? Don’t you love me?” before going on to sing about men in the way she does on Boots & Boys is terribly inconsistent… and like she said herself, slightly pathetic .

You might think this is going to cause some bias in my review, but I’ll be honest. I just don’t get 3OH!3. At all. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to be taking seriously and what I’m not when I see or hear them. Oh, and they just released a single (that’s actually not THAT bad) that features… Wait for it… KATY PERRY.

And here we have Blah Blah Blah (Featuring 3OH!3 – and rumoured to be the second single… naturally). Again, I just don’t get this song. It’s cringe worthy and actually quite painful to hear at some points. The only thing interesting about is hearing Ke$ha sing about a guy in a way you rarely hear women in the charts do. But there are much better songs where she does the exact same thing much better, and the arrival of the guys from 3OH!3 obviously completely turns the tables on that concept anyway.

Hungover is the first of the rather strange mellow songs. It’s surprisingly like Avril Lavigne’s I’m With You meets something by Kelly Clarkson meets something produced by Ryan Tedder. Surely, a recipe for success? But the problem with these slower songs is that they just don’t work. For whatever reason, they just halt the party atmosphere of the album and are still lacking in any true moments of originality.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself initially enjoying Party At A Rich Dude’s House. It’s a punky moment, in the same vein of songs like U + Ur Hand by P!nk, and includes a line that refers to that infamous moment when Ke$ha met Paris Hilton and threw up in her closet. But the bittersweet feeling kicks in soon after, and once you listen back, you’ll see that it isn’t actually as exciting as it first seemed. The track builds up some momentum, but then never goes anywhere with it. Instead of trying to reach anthem height, the song is stays at the same level throughout; seemingly scared to break from its formula that got you hooked in the beginning.

Finally, one of those amazing demos I keep telling you all about. Backstabber is just plain great. It’s a sort of Shakira style angry song for 90210 kids. This mastered version is a little easier on the ears, but doesn’t lose any of the punch and attitude that make the song such a joy to listen to. Ke$ha’s laid back, “what’s the point” vocals really suit this song. The only downside is that this version is now censored, but when a song this fun finally appears, you can easily forgive that.

Things quieten down again for Blind. Again, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the song, but the downbeat lyrics and atmosphere are just depressing in the context of the rest of the album, and nothing jumps out to make the song above average. Ke$ha even sounds like she is wondering what the point is, her vocals appearing to have had no effort put into them.

Dinosaur is the only new track on this album that I actually think I might like. We’ve come to expect this from Max Martin and company anyway, but this song is hilarious. It’s short, snappy and to the point. The biggest problem I have is that it spends so much time trying to be funny, that nothing much else happens, there’s not even a great, sing-along chorus like the countless ones we have endured throughout the rest of the tracks. However, it’s still probably (apart from the 4 songs I mentioned at the beginning) the only song worth listening to.

Another “slow” song. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes echoes Avril Lavigne once again. These specific songs would probably sound so much better on their own disc. I hate to say it, but nothing special… again. Plus the title is just awful.

The last of my treasured demos, Boots & Boys is the penultimate track. This song is slick and sexy, and sees Ke$ha objectifying guys in the way women usually are in genres like (but not exclusive to) hip-hop. That’s not actually as revolutionary as it sounds, but the song is one of the album’s rare moments of pure joy. Ridiculously catchy.

This brings us to a moment that never fails to make me angry. I can’t understand the point in releasing a trashy party album, looking like you do, and calling it Animal, if the title track is going to sound like THIS. And it especially doesn’t belong at the end of the disc, giving it some kind of hype, making you await the outrageous and incredible song it promises to be.

It doesn’t live up to the expectation, simple as that. It’s slow, bland and disastrously anticlimactic. Oh, and it sounds like one of the more mellow moments on Katy Perry’s album…

Maybe it has something to do with my bitter feelings towards the blatant avoidance of utilising those brilliant demos, but I fully expect most people to actually accept this as a genuinely good album, despite it not being. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Ke$ha, and I think she will continue to plague the charts with her seemingly perfect pop songs for at least the rest of this year. But anyone who decides to leave Mr. Watson (one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time!) off of their debut album can’t actually know exactly what they are doing. A disappointing start to the year. Hopefully it can only get better…