Kesha is back, or something like that. If you are familiar with the contemporary Pop music scene and regularly use the plethora of social media platforms, then you have likely seen ‘the pink dot’ at least once. This publicity stunt by Kesha, and likely her secret team of media businessmen, was a purposefully disruptive rebranding of her past. The artist reuploaded album art for all her past releases, but with a large pink dot taking up over 80% of the image, creating a blocking effect.
This is likely meant as a metaphor, an attempt to reinvent the self, and in doing so, completely alter her audience’s view of her past music as well. This is an interesting approach, and Lil Uzi Vert’s similar tactic for Eternal Atake 2 in 2024 and Pink Tape in 2023 comes to mind. It catches the eye with the unapologetic sting of hot pink, but it is a little confusing considering the rest of the release package.
The newest album, silently labelled . (which will now be referred to as PERIOD), and released independently on July 4, 2025, seems to be asking for silence, or at the very least playing with it. However, this quiet title is the opposite of what Kesha is conveying in her new songs, and is opposed to the hot pink media tour she has been on. What the silent title fails to define is the purpose behind it. This new album is a large stepping stone in Kesha’s already chart-topping career. This is the first collection of songs she has released as an independent artist, and the period that titles it is supposed to be the final sign of this. An authoritative ending to a sentence of long legal battles and radio/media censorship.
And good for Kesha; it is a good thing that she can free herself from the chaos and trauma of the early 2000s media industry. This is a battle that many other singer-songwriters have been vocal about, specifically Taylor Swift. Seeing a freer music marketplace is a good sign for the future of this industry. All this is great, but there is one concern: PERIOD does not feel like a new path for Kesha, or a defining moment that will affect her musical sound.
PERIOD is an hour-long release of semi-polished feel-good Electro Pop. A very contemporary sound that connects with the Pop/Country uprising in middle America and the Electro soundwaves that are flooding the masses’ brains by way of Charli XCX, Horsegirl, and Kylie Minogue. It feels like there is a song to fit every niche of the Pop music spectrum right now. Even a few sad songs, one with an uplifting ending (“Delusional” and one fully bathed in emotions “Cathedral”). While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does lend the album a mixed feel. An assortment that will ultimately lead the listener to skipping a few tracks on a listen-through.
Of course, that is a specific way to listen to new music, and it feels like this release was not precisely targeted at full-album listeners, or even Kesha’s die-hard fans. PERIOD lacks the energy that could be found in her Y2K era, a qualm that cannot be said for her 2023 release “Eat the Acid.” This mixed bag of music is feel-good Pop that is unthreatening and will find its way to the radio stations in no time.
As a piece of capital to be sold for profit, PERIOD is poised for success. As a piece of art and creative expression, it falls slightly short of expectations. Kesha wanted to create an avant-garde album that shows how a part of herself has completely changed and is liberated, but maybe she lost some steam halfway through. In doing so, she defaulted to the sounds of the current music landscape. In the early 2000s, she was the torch, lighting the way for others to follow. Now, in 2025, it seems the roles are reversed, and Kesha is building off the foundations of other musical artists.
The best tracks are the Electro-inspired ones, which use repeating voices as the backdrop to elevate Kesha’s singing voice. Which leads to the obvious: Kesha still has a great voice, and it is powerful in all the tracks. She has energy and charisma, and it shines in the annoyingly catchy “Joyride” and “Yippee-Ki-Yay” and works well with the whirring electronic elements of “Boy Crazy” and “Attention.”
Overall, a decent album whose purpose and title are never delivered on, Cryptic Rock gives Kesha’s PERIOD 3.5 out of 5 stars.
 (Album Review)){kind=link}
No comment