Kesha
"Rainbow"
(RCA / Kemosabe (ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK))
It's hard not to root for Kesha, the over-the-top pop star who is still stuck in the middle of a never-ending legal battle with her former producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald (she accused him of sexual and emotional abuse in 2014). After expressing her frustration on a F- the World tour in 2016, the "Tik Tok" and "Die Young" singer (both of those songs, by the way, were cowritten and produced by Dr. Luke) has carried on with this set of empowerment anthems and stylistically varied party tracks that send a clear message that she's now the one in charge.
"Rainbow" is arresting from the start, with the clenched-fist opener "Bastards," a statement of purpose that vows to get on with it ("I could fight forever, but life's too short") before building from a solo guitar strum to an affirmative power ballad crescendo. "Woman" is profane and proud, putting the Dap-Kings' horns employed by the late Sharon Jones to righteous and rousing use, as Kesha declares her independent womanhood in celebratory terms. And "Hymn" ("for the hymnless") is nearly as effective as a communal rallying cry for the marginalized.
For the most part, the multicolored "Rainbow" is winningly eclectic, though it has moments of banality, with "Praying" and the title track. What-will-she-do-next unpredictability largely serves her well, however. One minute the singer is pairing up with heavy rock outfit Eagles of Death Metal on the chugging "Boogie Feet"; the next, she's teaming up with Dolly Parton for a remake of "Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You)," a 1980 hit for the country queen that turns out to have been written by Kesha's mother, Pebe Sebert. _ Dan DeLuca
