MUSIC

Rainbow

Back when she was Ke $ha, her interests mainly seemed to be partying and making money. With Rainbow, Kesha has found numerous causes to embrace and, more importantly, her own artistic voice.

As her first album in five years, Rainbow seems to be her artistic defiance in a variety of pop styles. She delivers potent folk-influenced rock Bastards, country Hunt You Down and even Beatlesque pop Godzilla.

The feminist anthem Woman struts like a mix of Amy Winehouse and Fifth Harmony. The dramatic piano ballad Praying makes universal statements about self-worth and recovery. With Hymn, which sounds like Tik Tok filtered through Lorde, Kesha shows just how much she has grown, with a hymn for the hymnless, an anthem where she celebrates her imperfections as part of her strength.