REVIEW #1 - 78
After all of us thinking that Miss Clarkson gave up on her musical career, she surprised released her brand new album "ANALOG", and I must say, it's one of the great Pop records of the year. But I won't lie, there ain't no time for sugarcoating what shouldn't be covered in glitter, the era begun with "Who You Love" (a bittersweet track from this album, it's good but something's missing) which is a signature Kelly Clarkson song but honestly the era wasn't showing to be an interesting one thanks to how things rolled out and the song chosen as the lead. Don't get me wrong, "Who You Love" is one Pop Gem but it didn't scream lead single. Good thing is, that Miss Clarkson proved me wrong and showed me that you'd never judge a book by it's cover. This album is like a breath of fresh air in the dominant Dance/Pop world ruled by the likes of Lorde and Ariana Grande to say the least. There are a lot of outstanding tracks, but the one that caught my eye was "Afraid", the song's lyrics are really relatable, the song's catchy and can we talk about the sweet "Savior"? Truly, I would even dare to say that this album reminds me of Kelly's Magnus Opus "Breakaway" in every good sense. After coming from a very successful era and GRAMMY winner "Masquerade" you would think that Kelly Clarkson wouldn't be able to top such great record but once again I was proven wrong. As there is good things, there are bad things, some of the tracks even though they had great lyrics, felt kind of bland. But, we'll give Kelly the green light, this is one of her greatest albums.
REVIEW #2 - 80
From the release of the gigantic rock anthem Who You Love earlier in the year, Kelly Clarkson's third(?) CAL album was said to be a big reinvention, or more of a revival in previous sounds, to her previous effort Masquerade which emphasised dreamy pop and electronic sounds. With its official release (finally), ANALOG is one of the best pop-rock albums to have been released in the CAL world, a ride of classic pop-rock thrills under some seriously impressive vocal chops from the powerhouse vocalist that we all know is capable of.
From top to bottom, ANALOG feels like a journey of Kelly walking from dark to brightness, from anxieties and inner turmoil, slowly figuring herself out and finally getting to a peaceful resolution. Phrases like inner demons and voices are common themes in the first half of the album - "Bite" is a gritty punch that sees Kelly standing on the line between temptation and control, as she talks on biting the forbidden fruit, tempted by voices inside her - she dedicates a song purely to these voices on "Demons", a full-on display of the stress they cause her. The sound of the first half is dense and noisy, almost reflective of Kelly's chaotic inner nature.
One thing I really like about ANALOG is that Kelly emphasises very heavily that discovery happens within herself and not anyone else. We see too much of narratives in songs where troubled artists are pulled out of the mud because of some holy divine angel they've fallen in love with, "you saved me from my darkest moments" kind of cheesy stuff. This is what makes "Saviour" one of my favourite tracks - the song opens as if it's leading to become one of those songs as Kelly sings "I cried out for you in the midst of pain", but in the chorus she reveals and understands that she's the one that sets herself free. With every track after the interlude theming around romance, Kelly concludes that love is all you need to walk out of the shadows - but not just to people around you but to your own self. In the current tense atmosphere around the world where events that sadden occur every second, Kelly's message is significant and sound.
Trinity: Bite | Saviour | Who You Love
REVIEW #3 - 89
Despite lackluster sales, Kelly served one of her best records yet in terms of quality. None of the tracks are a disaster but she did include a few middle of the rod songs. One of these is 'The Good, The Bad, The Ugly' which is very cinematic and a great opening but lacking lyrically. Another song that has a similar vibe is the transitional track 'The Release'. Perhaps the only track on the album that could possibly be called generic is the anti climatic 'Savior'. Despite its tone, the song is still very cute and quite enjoyable. I would expect to hear it on a playlist or pop radio station, but not on a possible Album of the Year contender. Improvements were made with the emotionally filled vocals on 'That I Would Be Good / Us' with its country vibes. The title track of 'Analog' was one of the most soothing and hypnotizing songs that's definitely be a future Radio success if Kelly pulls herself out of this current slump. She demonstrates strong complex themes with a good use of repetition and catchy beats in both the lead single 'Who You Love' and 'Romance'. Listeners get a haunting, mysterious and intimating side of Kelly with 'Afraid' and 'Bite', reminding them of her early releases back in fall/winter of 2015. The public gets to know the side of Kelly we haven't really seen recently due to her giving birth and becoming a mother. 'Love Me' shows off a seductive side in her killer lyrics and vocal tones. Whether or not she expands this style into another era is what I am desperately waiting to her because of how fantastic this track is. Something her fans have been waiting for is a return of the creative rock pop Kelly that they originally fell in love with, and she delivers that with 'Demons'. The track is very hard hitting and definitely a future smash hit it she does it right. However undeniably the best track off the record is 'Home', which is a memorable ballad with a beautiful piano instrumental. It is simply timeless in recording and has the most perfected lyrics imaginable. This song deserves to win plenty of Grammys and if it is snubbed by 'Vibrations', 'Stardust' or some other crap would be a shame.