James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
Angsty, angry, raw and generally misunderstood teenagers everywhere found a new figure with whom to relate at the end of 2009. Ke$ha’s care-free, boisterous image gained her not only a large fanbase, but a great number of hits to boot, lifted from her debut Animal. The album was infectious pop-dance that seemed to break the mould and it mixed a great deal of emotions and scandal in a fun way.
At first listen, Cannibal may appear a little disappointing then. It comes off a clichéd copy of its predecessor, with less variation to the vulnerable Ke$ha and a seeming dependence on electronic voice. Sure, it maintains the loud image, but when you have a dollar sign in your name, that persona is already established.
Fortunately, as the tracks have fed off this party-pumping aspect, you find yourself replaying the album. Title track ‘Cannibal’ plays off its quick synthesised beat and an ingenious little roar at the start to hook you. Cheesy, but strangely effective in how it introduces the theme of both song and album: “I am Cannibal, I’ll eat you up” shouts Ke$ha; she doesn’t care too much how her image may be perceived, she is her own. The sentiment is echoed throughout, but nowhere more so than in lead single, and current number one, ‘We R Who We R’, which, despite its unfortunate meeting with the Ke$ha stylisation machine, is another of those pop anthems for the individual. ‘Blow’ is very much the number that is reminiscent of ‘TiK ToK’; the idea to party just to party, regardless of circumstance.
Yet, the album does have subtle differences. ‘The Harold Song’ speaks of lost love, not in a conventional ballad, but using a slower synth beat. It mixes the emotional turmoil of happy memories and the distress felt at the end of a relationship in a manner that is neither depressing nor a classic Ke$ha smash. ‘Crazy, Beautiful Life’ is a particular highlight: despite her party beat, the track is mid-tempo and less auto-tuned: it sounds genuine and talks of development with a Ke$ha stamp.
Of course, no true Ke$ha album would be complete without some inclusion of obscenities (Is that a fair remark being only her second offering?) ‘Grow A Pear’ is definitely a track for anyone that felt a bit disappointed in their relationship… “but I just can’t date a dude with a vag”. Feminism has obviously had no finer advocator than Ke$ha and her rather crude inputs. If the message hadn’t quite been clear, the subsequent ‘C U Next Tuesday’ has our artist watching a guy play the scene as it were. No prizes for guessing which word she uses to describe him.
The repetitive nature of these songs, along with a similar electronic feel throughout, is the reason this album may be overlooked. Where Ke$ha allows some ingenuity, some flavour and the occasional bit of party madness, she is exciting, but when she lets a synth dictate the flow of her songs, it appears as if she is lost for material. Cannibal, then, only achieves more than Animal because whilst it is overwhelmingly brash, if one perseveres, you find relatable aspects to a number of the tracks and, after all, “the club’s about to blow” on a new lease of Ke$ha material.
Like it? Try Katy Perry, Lady Gaga or Rihanna
Cannibal - ★★★☆☆
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