Kesha's GAG ORDER!!!!! (Patreon)

I think the last time I did an album review was for Miss Nepotism Baby's most recent record, the title of which I've completely forgotten about just like the bulk of the content of it!! Slay!! If you like my reviews, I can always do more...I listen to almost every single major release, including from artists I don't like honestly, because I'm always open to giving people chances and also I just enjoy having my own opinion on things without just being influenced by the group think on twitter and beyond. I haven't done a ton of album reviewing, but...

When I heard this record I knew I had to open my mouth and speak on it. The very first thing that came to mind when I was listening to it was very simple : EXCEEDS. EXPECTATIONS. Disclaimer before we continue : I've been a Kesha fan since her debut with Animal and have always felt very oddly connected to her energy as a person, in a way I can't really put into words. It's like I saw her when I was sixteen and said : she's me. I actually went as her for Halloween the year Animal came out and it barely felt like a fucking costume. 

All that said, I must admit that in terms of recent releases from her, I've felt a little underwhelmed. I don't really like to say that, because with all of the things surrounding her life it feels very foul to critique those records; but I do maintain that there was something so deeply disingenuous about High Road that it's hard for me to listen to absolutely any of it. I'm a casual Rainbow enjoyer, definitely some incredible work on that record, but High Road fell completely flat. I felt like it was her trying to force herself to make another massive pop record, even while she knew deep down she didn't really want to do that shit anymore. 

So, my expectations for Gag Order were very low. Eat the Acid and Fine Line as pre-releases were very interesting - I actually like Eat the Acid in a "this is good, but I don't see myself sitting down to listen to it" sort of a way. We cannot deny the IMPLICIT truth in that song can we...reasons number one through ten why I would never do psychedelic drugs. Fine Line is all right. But, neither of these two songs really prepared me for the bulk of the record. 

It opens very slowly. Tracks one through four are a bit sleepy for me, and on first listen I was sat there thinking to myself, oh lord, she's dropping the ball again... but the literal second that Only Love Can Save Us Now opened I knew she was picking her steam right back the fuck up. INCREDIBLE track that I feel like represents the entire album a lot better than either of the two pre-releases she put out - absolutely love the juxtaposition of those dark, low spoken, heavy bass verses alongside that HUGE chorus. It's cathartic to listen to; I can't imagine how she felt recording it. 

Another track that really stands out to me is All I Need Is You. Something that Kesha is notoriously underrated for is writing really fucking good love songs, and All I Need Is You fits right in with the rest of them - it may actually be my favorite love song she's ever put out. Something about the instrumentals makes me really wish it had been out when I got married, because I would have LOVED to have walked down the aisle to this song. It's so simple and beautiful, I've yet to be able to listen to it without crying. "How do I even imagine describing life without the sun?"

If you can believe it, Only Love Can Us Now, All I Need Is You, and The Drama all go BACK TO BACK TO BACK...FUCKING INSANE THREE TRACK RUN....AMBULANCES WERE CALLED ON ME....The Drama is an INSANE FUCKING SONG. There have been many many songs written and released in recent years about dealing with fame and the repercussions of it (has ANYONE heard of a little ditty called Anti-Hero), but The Drama handles the extreme paranoia and anxiety of dealing with fame in such a unique and palpable way. When the synths start picking up and she asks us ARE WE HAVING FUN YET??? I FELT THAT. Like ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??? Not to even mention the bonkers insane outro of the song with her talking about wanting to be a fat and happy housecat in her next life sunning in a square of light on a hardwood floor. 

This record also features an interlude that I actually feel adds to the record instead of taking away from it. Often with albums, I feel like interludes waste everyone's fucking time, take away from the music, and bore me. The Ram Dass interlude does the exact opposite. It speaks to the entire theme of the record. Normally I skip interludes - I refuse to skip this one. 

Peace and Quiet is another HUGE song on this album that features some of the most core features of old school Kesha perfectly married with her new sound. This is also the song that made me realize some of the common threads and themes on this album - hero vs villain complexes, references to religion, being a god or a demon, and her life being so massive she can never have peace (a familiar sentiment to us swifties). What I love about this song is that she presents these parts of her life, all these dark things she has to deal with day in and day out, and instead of lamenting the fact that maybe no one will ever be able to deal with those parts of her and her life, she says : deal with it, or fuck off. Taylor needs to take a fucking note. 

All in all, I love this record. I feel as though it is the most authentic piece of Kesha that we have been given in years, maybe since Rainbow. Listening to it feels like she's moving aside a curtain for us to look into not just her life, but her mind. It's a very visceral and moving piece of work. So get into it or get the fuck out!