After one of the messiest leaks in the history of digital music, Ke$ha's new album has graced our ears in high quality during the past week. The album hit shelves today. Ke$ha had promised rock influence on this album and delivers on a few tracks, but still manages to include the sound that made her famous on the majority of the album. Select tracks stand out as utilizing rock influence such as Gran Trans Am and Dirty Love. On the other hand, her usual trashy-pop flavors shine in Die Young, C'mon and Only Wanna Dance With You.
The demo of Only Wanna Dance With You leaked around a year ago and everyone seemed to think it was a left over from Cannibal. It was decent, but nothing special. The album was supposedly going to be titled Spandex on the Distant Horizon. Frankly, it's kind of sad that it's not, but I like the title Warrior too. In 2011, K$ had said she intended to release the album in May 2012. It's understandable why the wait for Warrior was so agonizing.
But, finally, it is here! And the worth was totally worth it. Die Young was released in late September and serves as a great lead single. C'mon is set to be the second single and was confirmed by Ke$ha on twitter. I do not think C'mon is the best option for second single, but we will get to why later.
Let's do a track-by-track breadown:
1. Warrior - the album opens with the title track and one of the best anthems of the year. Much like P!nk opened with Are We All We Are, Ke$ha opens with a major anthem that calls her animals to fight. "C'mon animals, are you ready to fight?" leads into lines such as "fight for the f**k-ups, stand up for true love." It's brazen and amazing in true Ke$ha style. One of the best tracks on the album, though, after breaking the record in, it seems a bit repetitive. 8/10
2. Die Young - She works her typical magic on this track. It's pure pop gold and radio is eating it up. It's blazing trails on iTunes. Ke$ha finds her first smash of the era here. It's currently one of the most played tracks in my iTunes. It's incredibly catchy and the video was one of her best yet. 9/10
3. C'mon - Great Ke$ha fun is delivered in what seem to be a direct continuation of Die Young. I find myself singing this in my head during the day and she sounds amazing in it. As for it being chosen for the second single, I think that's still a terrible choice. 7/10
4. Thinking of You - I have been in love with this since the low quality leak! It's on replay and totally needs to be a single. It's just that anthem for that ex who screwed you over and is now going nowhere in life and is pathetic. The bridge is totally better than the chorus as she blatantly calls some dude out, "I know I said I wouldn't talk about you publicly but that was before I caught you lying and cheating on me, slut, I was down for you hardcore while you were out trying to score, You're full of it, I'm over it so suck my dick." EPIC. 10/10
5. Crazy Kids - One of the first leaks from the album. It took some time to grow on me with the mixture of acoustic rock and typical K$ pop. After getting used to it, it's become this album's We R Who We R. It'll end up getting the single treatment even though I think there are much better options. 7/10
6. Wherever You Are - An honest, serious song about someone she loves. It's good and makes me slightly emotional about people I've moved away from, but in the major scheme of things, this falls short as one of the forgettable tracks. However, on Warrior, the forgettable tracks are still good! 7/10
7. Dirty Love (feat. Iggy Pop) - My first reaction to this song was WTF. It seemed to be a mess and her way of trying too hard to infuse rock into this album. The only place I had heard of Iggy Pop before was from his collab Kick It with Peaches. Slowly, especially after the Rick Santorum joke, this song has grown on me. It's a good one for running on the treadmill. Overall, still one of the weaker tracks on the album. 6/10
8. Wonderland - An amazing ballad that leaves me aching for the care free days with my friends in high school and college. It's nostalgic and amazing. A lot of people see this as one of the weaker tracks, but I have a personal connection to it that makes it awesome. 9/10
9. Only Wanna Dance With You - This seems to be the most generic pop song on here and one of the only tracks that really strikes me as a filler track. It's fun, but I had heard the demo almost a year ago and was kind of over it by the album release. 6/10
10. Supernatural - I like the song, don't get me wrong. I just do not see the hype. The drop from the chorus back into the verses feels forced and unfinished. I still enjoy the song and I foresee this being a single, but I don't really see anything exceptional here. Also, I think she was just being an ass and pulling one over on everyone when she says it's about having sex with a ghost. The English major in me gets the metaphor....and those that don't are actually believing her! 7/10
11. All That Matters (The Beautiful Life) - This song really came off as a filler when I first listened to the album because I was mesmerized by the epic tracks like Thinking of You. I ignored this for awhile. Now that I've given it the proper attention it deserves, I've fallen in love with this anthem about being in love with life. Ke$ha is truly inspirational on this album and it's good to see she didn't fully depart from the sound that made her famous. 8/10
12. Love into the Light - While I don't have this song on repeat, it still has an amazing and totally true message that I dig. The only problem I find with it is that the delivery is a bit dry and boring. However, still an exceptional song! 7/10
13. Last Goodbye - I feel like this song has been done before (all references to the similarity to Payphone's beat aside). It's good, but not my favorite on this album. 6/10
14. Gold Trans Am - YES, YES, YES. This is my jam! Wam bam thank you ma'am for this track! It's stellar rock and not to be missed. The usual Ke$ha fun shines through as she rocks out about sex, her Gold Trans Am, and jonesing for a mustache ride. Don't miss this....unless you don't have a sense of humor! 10/10
15. Out Alive - Another anthem where Ke$ha reminds people who take life to seriously that nobody is getting out alive. She reminds us to live it up. A solid pop track that could easily be the Super Bass of Warrior (though I'm hoping that Gold Trans Am will do that instead). 9/10
16. Past Lives - Eh, at first I found this track dreadfully boring. Eventually I got into it and it's a great love song. It's definitely different than the usual romantic song. K$ pulls out her vulnerable and raw side and it's good. However, I feel the track is a little weak as a closing song. 6/10
Overall - 7.6/10
Easily one of the best releases of the year. It is definitely contending for a top 3 spot on my top albums of the year charts. Rihanna needs to take notes from someone with a dollar sign in her name who is coming for Rih's wig. This album rocks. Ke$ha is the only star who can infuse senseless pop music with such amazing depth and quality. This long awaited comeback totally pays off. I cannot wait for the amazing videos and performances that are about to stem from this era. Ke$ha cannot go wrong with this album! Don't miss this one! Hopefully this can beat out Wiz Khalifa for that #1 spot!
Check out the video for Die Young below:
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