Kesha has become a fixture in music thanks to her breakout danceable pop tracks like “Cannibal.” However, on her forthcoming album Gag Order, the singer is breaking out of the sonic box she’s been placed in. Although her vibrant glam rock cover of Rihanna’s song “Umbrella” was a subtle display of that, she truly sheds her pop persona on her newly released singles.
Co-produced by Rick Rubin, “Eat The Acid” is a poignant song about warming others about ingesting the addicting drug that is fame. The track, co-written by Kesha, her mother, and Stuart Crichton, is a metaphor for the wake-up call she had after her legal battle with producer Dr. Luke. After realizing just how cruel the music industry can be, Kesha exhaustedly sings, “You said, “Don’t ever eat the acid if / You don’t wanna be changed like it changed me / You said, “All the edges got so jagged now / Everything you saw then can’t be unseen.”
Whereas “Fine Line,” co-written by Ajay Bhattacharya, details the aftermath of speaking out against the powers that be. Signing, “All the doctors and lawyers cut the tongue outta my mouth / I’ve been hidin’ my anger, but b*tch, look at me now / I’m at the top of the mountain with a gun to my head / Am I bigger than Jesus or better off dead,” Kesha is battling herself. The singer ultimately questions whether in the end if all the advocacy work is worth it.
In speaking about the project’s creative direction, Kesha told Rolling Stone, “I feel like I’m giving birth to the most intimate thing I’ve ever created. It’s scary being vulnerable. The fact that I have compiled an entire record of these emotions, of anger, of insecurity, of anxiety, of grief, of pain, of regret, all of that is so nerve-racking — but it’s also so healing.”
Listen to both songs above.
Gag Order is out 5/19 via Kemosabe/RCA Records. Find more information here.