Most scoffed when Ke$ha released her debut single “Tik Tok”. The nay sayers claimed that its silly and repetitive nature would turn Ke$ha into a one-hit wonder and nothing more. She was quick to prove them wrong, however, by releasing her first full-length debut “Animal”. Its title is not a coincidence; this is a ravenous, dirty, and unkempt set of songs for the classless masses of 2010, an era dominated by teen moms and the Kardashians. “Tik Tok” was a very fitting choice for a lead single, as its super-sized hook and electronic production set the album up perfectly. Lyrically and musically, “Animal” doesn’t stray too far away from “Tik Tok” territory, each song pulsates on the insistent beats and mechanical flourishes. However, this isn’t electro-pop in the vein of Lady Gaga, actually, it’s quite the opposite. Gaga has built her career on the thumping euro-disco and euro-trash of the late 2000s, while Ke$ha’s sound is strictly American. It’s not meant to be on the cutting edge, nor was it designed to dig deeper than surface pleasure (the deepest “Animal” gets is how Ke$ha compares a lost love to feeling hungover). Although, that doesn’t mean it’s not good. If this album only had “Tik Tok” going for it, then all of Ke$ha’s haters would be right in saying that her career would end when that one song lost airplay. But “Animal” is more than that, meaning there’s not just one track that hits the blinding peak of “Tik Tok”, there are several. The heavy-footed “Take it Off” is about as good as dark-club music gets, and the harsh kiss-off “Blah Blah Blah” is instantaneously catchy, even if it does appeal to your worst senses. Albums like “Animal”, built upon raw sex appeal and dizzying heights to give it a bright commercial sheen, bring back Katy Perry’s 2008 smash “One of the Boys”. Although, the difference between “Animal” and “Boys” is that while Katy used her sexuality only to put her atop the mainstream, Ke$ha’s heart is fully invested in this debut, even when it stumbles. With so many great pop songs here, consistency wasn’t going to happen, as Ke$ha could only re-work “Tik Tok” so many times before the well ran dry. As many sassy electro-pop hits there are, an equal amount of empty filler (the buzzkill “Blind” and the half-hearted “Backstabber” being the main culprits) is found. Still, “Animal” is a considerable debut coming from an artist who’s been behind the scenes for years. She knows how to make great hits, and while her vocal talent is highly questionable, ultimately it doesn’t matter. “Animal” wasn’t designed to be deep; it was designed to be a fun, sunny record for the party-goers and club crawlers across America
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Your Love is My Drug2. Tik Tok 3. Take It Off
4. Kiss and Tell 5. Stephen 6. Blah Blah Blah
7. Hungover 8. Party at a Rich Dude’s House
9. Backstabber 10. Blind 11. Dinosaur
12. Dancing with Tears in My Eyes 13. Boots and Boys
14. Animal
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