I think I've made pretty clear in the past that I both have severe reservations about K.P. (and that was before I even heard "I Kissed A Girl") and ADORE "Hot 'N Cold" . All the buzz I'd heard about her album was that there was nothing to rival "Hot 'N Cold" on it, which meant I dodged the majority of the "well, is it OK to listen?" dilemma; all I had to do was be frustrated whenever she appeared on TV singing "I Kissed A Girl" or newspapers ran thinly-veiled promotional articles about, say, her style or something and I felt fairly free to enjoy "Hot 'N Cold" in peace.Last weekend, though, I was forced to listen to her debut album--well, saying "forced" makes it sound a lot more extreme than it was--just being in the car with someone who was listening to it. As I said on Fizzy Pop, I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I shouldn't have been (surprised, that is), since I'd found out earlier on that she sang the demo for Miley Cyrus's "Breakout," a song I like (despite some offputting first verse lyrics) in a style I'm generally open to hearing more of from anyone--kind of Go-Go's-esque. I wouldn't say the album is all killer no filler by any stretch, but--though the "no rival to 'Hot 'N Cold' statements are right--there are things to enjoy there, though slightly more on the pop-rock side of things than either of her first two proper singles are.
I think "Waking Up In Vegas" is my (non-"Hot 'N Cold") track of the moment from it; the bridge and chorus are just the right kind of melodic power pop/pop-rock. It's not propelled forward quickly like "Breakout" nor electro-buzzy and jumpy like "Hot 'N Cold" and any "shake shake shake" is far from the gleeful chant of Metro Station's "Shake It," but it's no ballad either. If Miley isn't going to be our next Go-Go's, could (gulp) Katy? Or maybe she's the morning after the Go-Go's, when, with the previous night's parties over, you're left putting the pieces back together. Most of them are still whole, enough for the melody, the attitude, and some of the fun to be recoverable, but a few--that sugar rush and some of that untameable backing beat--are too shattered to be saved, and added into the mix are a few new pieces which you're can't figure out if you're proud of or regret.
To buy her latest album, go here (physical) or here (digital).
Next up: maybe that British song or Spanish song.
