Kesha - Rainbow

Kesha
Rainbow
2017
Spotify

the fact that Rainbow is here is a triumph in and of itself. After a long legal battle with producer Dr. Luke over sexual assault and emotional abuse allegations and a long period of legally not being allowed to release music Kesha pulled through it all to arrive at this album. The big question is who would Kesha be on this record? The turnt up bubblegum sex-pop of the 2010s has faded with many of the pop princesses shifting towards more singer songwriter inspired stuff a la Lady Gaga's Joanne. the first track "Bastards" sort of sums this all up with it's line of "Don't let the bastards get you down". It is a song, and an album for that matter that pays homage to Kesha's country roots, which she actually has getting her start in Nashville. It's a mistake however to make this album's merit about what Kesha has gone through. Many artists, hell most in fact, go through difficult struggles and allow that to influence their art, but they don't make it the selling point or the central focus. I get that she feels empowered, I get that she feels free, but why does every word have to be so on the nose? This album had to be a departure from everything Dr. Luke, production wise, content wise all of it but she abandons everything that made her popular in the first place, the I'm crazy and I don't give a fuck attitude. With this return you would want an album that is razor sharp, cutting maybe even a little violent but it just never hits those notes. "Woman" is so self indulgent to the point where she breaks down laughing while singing one of the verses and they leave it in. "I'm a mother fucking woman, alright/I don't need no man to hold me tight"... Is this not territory that every single pop star treads on every single album?

On "Hymn" however she nails it. It's a perfect blend of electronics, her half hip hop delivery and a millennial message of being yourself. It bangs like the rest of the album should, but doesn't. "Praying" similarly hits a powerful note, but it continues to tell the same story she's been telling since the first track, just with different words. "Rainbow" which was produced with Ben Folds and an Orchestra musically sounds fantastic but Kesha is not able to capitalize with the same lyrics about the exact same shit. "Hunt You Down" is the one departure really and lands somewhere between country and pop which just feels so incredibly odd for Kesha regardless of her pedigree. "I love you so much, don't make me kill you" is spoken as an aside in the song but it just induces the most involuntary eye roll in history.  The two songs which feature The Eagles of Death Metal are attempts at pop-rock but while the music sounds pretty great it just doesn't really fit. There are too many ideas musically and not enough diversity lyrically. Dolly Parton makes an appearance on her former hit "Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You)" which was originally written by Kesha's Mother. It's nice in a legacy sort of way, but doesn't really set the album on fire or change it's direction. Kesha had to do something, and with all she went through this album makes sense, but that doesn't mean its good.

6.0 out of 10