The glitter enthusiast releases her sophomore album today, coming far from the days of "Tik Tok" and "Blah Blah Blah," but the party don't stop! Warrior provides dance and party hits such as the the first release "Die Young," and "C'Mon," which if one of the new songs that resembles those early hits, and is set to be her next single. There is also the sure to be club hits with "Supernatural," which has a softer "Take It Off" beat at times, and "All That Matters (The Beautiful Life)," a fast paced, trance-esque song about getting high (either on cannabis or energy from the music).
The album title song, "Warrior," is one for Ke$ha's animals (literally, she calls on us during the song). Like others, it has electronic tones mixed with strong vocals, but also includes interlude breaks, letting the sound stand alone at times. Ke$ha, however, does test different types of music in this album, exploring the "rock" waters with songs "Thinking Of You" (an electronic song mixed with pop rock) and "Only Wanna Dance With You" (has an indie/pop sound, and features two members from The Strokes, who join along for the warrior's ride). She puts on quite the rock star show with "Dirty Love," which features punk innovator Iggy Pop:
The rest of the album includes songs such as "Crazy Kids," which features Ke$ha transitioning back and forth from singing and rapping for a song that could be the follow up to the hit, "We R Who We R," and "Love Into The Light," smooth and slow-paced, includes a couple powerful notes and has meaningful lyrics--about differences and choosing love over hate. "Wonderland" is soft and even a bit "country," it's where she gets more personal and reminisces of young days and innocence:
Overall, Warrior shows Ke$ha's evolution and growth. She tells Rolling Stone, "On this record, I wanted to maintain what I believe is who I am--wild, filthy-mouthed, very honest--but at the same time, address the changes in my life, and bring the music I listen to offstage together with the music I make ... There was a strict no-guitar rule on Animal. I just had this vision of making everyone on the planet dance."
As she continues to discuss her pop music style, she explains: "Now, to some people, pop is a dirty word, or only a 'guilty pleasure.' But I fucking love pop music. I always have, and I will 'til the day I die, and I want to make pop records. But I love bringing [rock's] balls and irreverence to my music as much as I can."
It's a full-throated assurance that this new rock venture will not be the last we see, and not to ever be 100% sure what to expect from her in the future.
