Jenna Walter
Executive Theme Editor
Kesha’s new album, “Gag Order” breaks away from her usual style, but nonetheless is a lyrical masterpiece about the ups and downs of her life.
The thirteen track album explores the depths of Kesha’s trauma, as she releases her bottled-up emotions. In songs like “Eat the Acid,” “Living in my Head,” and “Only Love Can Save Us Now” Kesha brilliantly transforms her deep emotions into lyrics.
“Gag Order” strays very far away from Kesha’s traditional music style. Kesha is well known for her early 2000s pop hits including “Cannibal,” “Tik Tok,” “Take it Off,” and “Right Round,” a collaboration with rapper Flo Rida. Her latest album strays away from her pop music style hits by creating deep emotional connections with her listeners.
From a lyrical standpoint, “Gag Order” is a masterpiece. In track four, the song “Fine Line” describes Kesha walking a fine line between her work being genius and crazy. This metaphor is used throughout the entire song and truly showcases Kesha’s lyrical abilities.
The album’s interlude, “Ram Dass Interlude”, is a great transitional period for “Gag Order.” The interlude is an old voice recording from late spiritual teacher Ram Dass and provides fans with a different and unique audio. The recording discusses the real side of trauma and grief, telling the listener it’s best to let all the pain out.
“Gag Order” makes great use of a synthesizer and air harmonics. Every song in the album includes synthesized beats, along with the use of various flutes. This makes Gag Order very unique, beautifully blends two forms of music that would traditionally clash.
The album does not showcase Kesha’s full vocal power and potential. In her song “Praying” from 2017, Kesha infamously belts and hits a stupendous whistle note. However, these performances are not seen in “Gag Order,” with Kesha using her lower range and synthesizing her voice the entire album.
Although this album is a big step away from Kesha’s usual style, it is crucial for her growth as a singer and songwriter. “Gag Order” is a beautiful and artistic method of personal exploration that will be brought to audiences live on tour this November.
“Gag Order” was released on May 19th on streaming services Amazon Music, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Spotify, and YouTube. The album can be purchased for $16.99 at Barnes & Noble and Target.
Leave a Reply