Believe it or not, it's really been four years since Kelly Clarkson's last LP of original material, 2011's "Stronger". Filling in the gap since then was a marriage, a baby, a greatest hits collection, and a Christmas album. Certainly a woman that's thirteen years into her career with three children in tow might consider settling down, or at least making a low-key country or acoustic album (most people anticipating that former). Instead, Clarkson did the complete opposite, and created her sunniest--and glossiest--set of songs since 2009's "All I Ever Wanted". Quite contrary to country, "Piece By Piece" is a full-hearted dance-pop record, complete with Kelly's strongest set of pipes yet. This genre shift actually doesn't come as a surprise: all of Clarkson's records have been prime artifacts of the mainstream in their given years, whether it be 2003's "Thankful" incorporating adult contemporary and R&B, or 2004's "Breakaway", still her strongest album that thrived on an angsty pop pulse. In 2015's pop atmosphere filled with EDM and Britpop, making a country album would have made no sense for Clarkson, at least, the part of her that's still enjoying the glow of pop stardom.
Indeed, she does what she does best, and does it well considering how anemic "Piece By Piece" could've ended up. It's a 2015 pop album for sure: synths, not guitars, loud, not soft, guest collaborators by Sia, Greg Kurstin, and John Legend, and almost no writing credits from Clarkson herself. The particulars don't matter as much this time around, though, because regardless of the big-budget, Kelly still manages to push through the electronic sheen and give all of these songs life and spunk. Both Sia co-writes "Invincible" and "Let Your Tears Fall" are some of Clarkson's best soup-for-the-soul songs, while her personal songs "Piece By Piece" and "Heartbeat Song" are thoroughly genuine, no matter how many words actually came from her pen or another's. Does this record cover old ground? In a sense, yes, but despite their dance-pop settings adding a new flavor, "War Paint" and "Good Goes The Bye" sound more energized and optimistic than Clarkson has been in...well, ever. That's not saying "Piece By Piece" is better than "Stronger" or "Breakaway", because it really isn't. It has a smooth texture to it, which ultimately manners some of Clarkson's more aggressive features. It's this slick consistency in the production that actually works against "Piece By Piece". These are catchy songs, but there's not much warmth to them, no matter how much Clarkson belts and coos behind the gloss. Thankfully, though, this isn't "1989"-level ice; Taylor Swift willingly adapted to Max Martin and Ryan Tedder's cold calculations, while Clarkson forces her collaborators to adapt to her. It's this hard determination that saves "Piece By Piece" from falling into pop obscurity, and instead lifts it to the big leagues in which Clarkson has always been a part of, but now is owning her success.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Heartbeat Song 2. Invincible 3. Someone
4. Take You
High 5. Piece By Piece 6. Run Run Run
7. I Had a
Dream 8. Let Your Tears Fall 9.
Tightrope
10. War Paint 11. Dance With Me 12.
Nostalgic
13. Good Goes
The Bye
No comments:
Post a Comment