KESHA: Rainbow (RCA)
Rating: 
Verdict: Raw and purposeful return
Singers
and musicians are often keen to talk up every new release as a fresh
beginning. But, in the case of U.S. star Kesha Sebert, whose album
Rainbow is her first for five years, the claim carries a little more
weight than usual.
Having made her name
with cheerleader pop hits such as Tik Tok and Timber (a frothy duet
with rapper Pitbull), the brash Nashville singer saw her career thrown
into limbo by a draining three-year legal battle that continues to
rumble on.
Kesha sued former producer
and label boss Dr Luke for charges that included sexual assault and
emotional abuse, accusations that were dismissed by a judge. Dr Luke
filed a countersuit alleging defamation and breach of contract.
There
are no direct references to those cases on Kesha’s third album, out
today, but the emotional impact looms large on a set of soul-baring
songs that address the singer’s feelings of ‘hopelessness and
depression’ and, ultimately, her desire to put her woes behind her.
The
results can be scattergun. Kesha, 30, who originally styled her name as
‘Ke$ha’ and sang of how she brushed her teeth every morning with Jack
Daniels, has moved on musically from her electro-pop roots.
She
now dashes between pop, rock and country with skittish abandon. Beneath
the stylistic changes, though, there is an overriding sense here of an
irrepressible talent keen to get her career back on track.
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Kesha sued former producer and label boss Dr Luke for charges that included sexual assault and emotional abuse
There are flashes of anger. Opening track
is a raw ballad called Bastards that finds her holding back the tears as
she sings about ‘the people I’d like to prove wrong’. She warms to the
theme on the overwrought Praying, promising: ‘No more monsters, I can
breathe again’.
Even the light-hearted
moments are more pointed. Woman, inspired by sexist comments made by
Donald Trump and enlivened by the funky horns of The Dap-Kings, is an
expletive-strewn younger cousin of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want To
Have Fun.
Kesha has dabbled in rock
before, having worked with Iggy Pop, the Flaming Lips and Alice Cooper,
and she does so with relish here, collaborating with the Eagles Of Death
Metal on two rousing guitar anthems that sound ready-made for an
eventual live return.
The singer-songwriter writes a letter to her 18-year-old self with advice on how to overcome those challenges
She
also looks forward. The ballad Learn To Let Go is a song of resilience
co-written with her mother, Pebe. The optimistic title track is
bolstered by deft orchestral touches by pianist and arranger Ben Folds.
Kesha’s
mum, a Nashville songwriter who enjoyed some success in the Eighties,
is credited again on the cornily titled country number Old Flames (Can’t
Hold A Candle To You). A hit for Dolly Parton in 1980, the song is
reprised here as a duet between Kesha and Dolly, who sings the second
verse.
The track is one of several that
reiterate the singer’s slowly returning confidence. It may be uneven,
but Rainbow’s sense of purpose is admirable.
With
most of this year’s strongest pop albums made by women — Katy Perry,
Lorde and Lana Del Rey all impressed — Kesha is ready to rejoin the
party.
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