by Jack Gillespie A record like 2017’s Rainbow was not able to exist—or even be enjoyed fully—within a vacuum. Not only was the record a stunning shift in sound from the dirty, raw electropop of past projects like Animal and Warrior to heavy influences from country and rock music, but much of the record is a strong, emotionally potent response to the legal battle with former producer—and Kesha’s accused sexual abuser—Dr. Luke. And while there are not any moments where Luke is mentioned by name on Rainbow, tracks like “Praying” are about as direct of a response as Kesha could possibly make without doing so. Now in 2020, we've got a new record, High Road. While there are definitely moments and aspects where the history of Kesha’s career could definitely add more meaning, High Road does not require the listener to be well-educated on the Kesha narrative like its predecessor. It honestly seems deliberate; the lead single “Raising Hell” saw a return to the larger-than-life, fun-loving Kesha we saw on those first two records and the following single. “My Own Dance” is a direct response to people who dare to put her into any boxes as just a party girl or a victim. "You're the party girl, you're the tragedy / But the funny thing's I'm f*cking everything” Kesha sings before the hook busts in. Even the name of the record suggests that she is looking to move on from the trauma that she faced head-on all over Rainbow. The hints of moving on are, for the most part, quite true. High Road sees a full return to the off-the-wall dance-pop of her earlier work. The opener of the record, “Tonight,” sets this tone quite effectively; after a short piano intro, the listener is met with a fake-out, a reintroduction of the party-animal Kesha that we haven’t heard from since she was Ke$ha. She rapped bars about getting drunk and high, losing your phone, not seeing your boyfriend for months and the like. It’s definitely an attention-grabbing intro, but not really for all of the best reasons. Kesha is still great at embodying the free-spirited party girl, but messy, overblown production and incomprehensible mixing buries all of that charisma and turns the track into a muddled fever dream of a song. For a song that is trying to contrast between two radically different musical styles, this is a death sentence.
Messy mixing is the Achilles Heel of ‘High Road’
There are still high points on ‘High Road’
High Road RainbowYouTube
