Ah… Kesha. You either love her or hate her. I’ve always been on the side of highly respecting what she did for music. She may have been part of the electropop/club pop boom of the early 2010’s which oversaturated the music industry to the point on implosion, but Kesha was always more than that. She has a fantastic voice with a range that allowed her to venture into country and rock which resulted in some of her best tracks (“Dirty Love” ft. Iggy Pop is a straight jammer). After her 2012 album Warrior, Ke$ha dropped the “$” from her name and became known simply as Kesha. Not only did it make everything easier for those searching for her and writing about her, but it showed maturity going into her glorious 2017 release Rainbow. That album revealed Kesha as being a more diverse artist. With this greater maturity and further push for diversity, I was excited to find out I had the chance to review a new Kesha album here in 2020. So is High Road a quality predecessor to Rainbow?

Kinda. I feel like to talk about High Road, we must split the tracks into two categories. The first category being party songs. This is a shift from Kesha’s previous project which focused a lot on empowerment and personal issues. I’m alright with that; she has an amazing voice to make them more interesting. I’ve loved her past party songs for being exciting and hilarious with very little moments of corny. But oh my lord do many of these tracks come off as corny and even cringe-worthy. The opener “Tonight” begins with a subtle tone of epicness and rising to great heights, but then falls apart fast. Monotone male vocals repeating “bitch we going out tonight; b-b-b-bitch we going out” which follows a trend from early 2010’s party pop and should have stayed there. Off-tune group chants that I’m guessing are supposed to give a feeling of belligerent fun but is just grating. Same with Kesha’s nasally extension of words.

Moving on we get “My Own Dance”, a pretty basic track on doing things your own way and not listening to what others say. A commendable subject, but overdone at this point if nothing is added to keep it interesting. And that’s what we got. Whispery vocals ala Selena Gomez; a mediocre combination of clicking sticks, bumping bass, and acoustic plucking; and some corny lyrics like “don’t circumcise my circumstance”. At least the next song “Raising Hell” is a straight banger. Big Freedia makes a guest appearance and brings her bounce music in which she popularized. I love the hype feeling and the idea that you can have fun and raise hell and still go to heaven. So warm, so fun. The title track comes next which is again plain fun. I could go without the deep voice chant again and the cheerleader-like lyrics, but damn does Kesha sounds like she is having some fun. She’s going above the petty shit and rising to a greater state of self-acceptance.

Skipping forward four tracks we get to the second batch of party/up-lifting jams. “A Little Bit of Love” is nice with its epic horns and Kesha singing her heart out, but it does get boring outside of that with the simple piano chords and lyrics that cover needing love from a specific someone without any elaboration. Now we get into the corniest tracks off of High Road, but some go so overboard it actually becomes hilarious and fun. “Birthday Suit” features an 8-bit instrumental that is admittedly awkward when paired with the obvious innuendo of “birthday suit”, but I can’t help but smile when listening to it’s goofy nature. After is “Kinky” featuring the old Ke$ha which as expected is over the top fun about three-ways. The opening skit is hilarious which I won’t ruin. The track shouldn’t work as well as it does, but thanks to classic Ke$ha’s carefree nature mixed with infectious instrumentals and singing it work. The final track within this category is “Potato Song (Cuz I Want To) which… is just annoying. A nauseating accordion plagues the instrumental into being tedious. Kesha has a corny take on doing things her way which sounds like she is invincible to criticism. It’s just not my thing and I find myself cringing at the drunken circus vibe of the whole ordeal.

Now we have to discuss the other tracks on this album: laidback and country tunes. The first to appear is “Shadow” which is a fairly straight-forward pop country power ballad. The lyrics are mostly plain discussing how Kesha wants to eliminate toxicity in her life. I just feel it’s missing a little more depth in the lyrics to match the revelling swells. After comes “Honey” which tries to be sassy over a smooth acoustic guitar. What ruins it are the sour screams that feel tacky over such a melody. Now, I’m surprised how much I love “Cowboy Blues”. Kesha shows her talent for condensing existential ideas into a sweet and concise manner with this track on wondering if at some point you missed your one true love. The backing vocals and the somber guitars work in harmony to let Kesha’s broken voice shine. Speaking of broken vocals, the following track “Resentment” hits like a truck. Of course Kesha is not the only cause of this, but also modern and classic musical geniuses Sturgill Simpson and Brian Wilson respectively add a thick layer of melancholy with those restrained chords and back-up vocals that impeccably pair with Kesha. The confessional lyrics also match super elegantly.

Finally we get to the end of the album. “BFF” is a feel good song about well having a best friend to lift you up when you’re down. The chemistry between Kesha and Wrabel is uncanny and gives a nostalgic bounce between memories of how each helped the other. I love the comedic layer too showing they can joke around while showing care for each other with a line like “I knew you were nervous and I thought it’d make you laugh; So I sent you a bag of candy dicks”. Moving away from a happier tone we get “Father Daughter Dance” next. Once again Kesha creates an existential crisis of not having a chance at life since her father’s death and is able to encapsulate such complex emotions into a singular track. It’s gut-wrenchingly personal. The final two tracks, “Chasing Thunder” and “Summer”, are mediocre to say the least which makes for a disappointing end. They both cover simple subjects; “Chasing Thunder” is on going after a thrill and “Summer” being on a fun a night. Both lack ingenuity. Plus I could go without the clapping chants on “Chasing Thunder” reminiscent of a cliché hoedown.

Although this is no Rainbow, High Road sees a fusion of both her past party animal and her ever-growing maturity. Her skills as a songwriter are still apparent, and she still has a great voice. I just unfortunately find myself underwhelmed by a good amount of performances. Sure there are still great songs, but not many rise to what we know Kesha is capable of. Die hard Kesha fans will absolutely love this though and many of the songs I don’t have particularly great views on may just be related to my personal tastes, so go ahead and check this out

Favorite Tracks: “Raising Hell” ft. Big Freedia; “Cowboy Blues”; “Resentment” ft. Sturgill Simpson, Brian Wilson, & Wrabel; “Kinky” ft. Ke$ha; “BFF” ft, Wrabel; “Father Daughter Dance”

Rating: 6/10

Released: 01/31/2020

Label: RCA Records & Kemosabe Records

Genres: Pop, Contemporary Country, Bounce

Remember this is all my opinion and I would like to hear yours. Music is overall subjective which allows for great discussions and the chance to learn about music and your own personal taste in music. Make sure to subscribe to the blog for notifications of new reviews, and keep being a music nerd.

RATING SCALE

Perfect Excellent Great Very Good Good Meh Disappointing Bad Horrible Pitiful Bottom of the Barrel