Picture a caged animal. It’s easy. Look at her claws, scraping at the metal, at her teeth bared, raring to slice and crunch. See her eyes? Drilling holes into yours, sizing you up from a distance, assessing the potential damage she could do to you. Something within her gaze is a dare: come closer, ponder the mystery, the danger. But there’s a mischievous glint there, too. Will you take the challenge? Will you play with her? Release her? Are you ready for that?
Such is the throughline of Kim Petras’ debut studio album, Feed The Beast, a mostly fun, sometimes rote, but always raucous slice of dance-pop released on June 23 by Republic Records. This 40-minute joyride weaves through themes of love, heartbreak, disillusionment, sex, and hookup culture. There is an underlying ferocity in her approach to these motifs, something slightly rabid and barely encased, moments from erupting. As an artist, Petras has never been one to shy away from straightforward, sexually-free expression, and this project is no exception. Feed The Beast is an exercise in straddling the line between cheeky euphemism and “full-frontal confessionalism,” if you will. Her sound is an amalgamation of several of her predecessors; Britney, Kylie, Madonna, Charli XCX, Kesha, and SOPHIE all appear readily to the mind.
Club-ready and ripe for remixes, Feed The Beast finds Petras dealing in “confident pop,” with unabashed lyrics about owning your body, about using that body for a variety of extracurricular methods and to achieve the ultimate release. Standout track “Revelations” highlights these desires, and is a vocal high point within her discography. In the song, Petras practically begs her lover to “Touch me, give me revelations / I’m not looking for salvation.” On “King of Hearts,” she grows tired of her lover’s philandering lifestyle, and contends with the knowledge that he has several other conquests besides her. Perhaps the purest pop expression on the album’s 15-song tracklist, “uhoh” blends house elements into a potent EDM cocktail. Elsewhere, near the tail end of the album, “Castle In The Sky” briefly orbits the world of hyperpop.
The influences of dance and electronic music are not the only ones to be found throughout Feed The Beast. On the languid hip-hop- and R&B-inspired production and vocal performance of “Thousand Pieces,” a remix with a featured rapper wouldn’t sound that far-fetched. Production on the BANKS-assisted “BAIT” is again hip-hop adjacent, but fairly bland overall. However, their vocal styles blend surprisingly well, as in certain spots it’s actually difficult to tell who is singing. Tracks “Sex Talk” and “Hit It From The Back” have a brassy irreverence that begins to wear thin by the middle of the album.
The work on this album is not revolutionary or groundbreaking in any way, within Petras’ own discography or in the larger pop landscape. But can fun still be had here? It depends on how you feel about the necessity of musicians to constantly push the envelope with each new project. And also how you feel about her professional relationship with contentious producer Dr. Luke, who worked with her on at least half the songs on Feed The Beast, as well as several other releases, and with whom she has previously defended working. Your experience listening to this album will be subjected to your own beliefs about the situation.
These songs have an uncomplicated nature to them lyrically, which is a method that Petras has previously stated she aims for in her music. Speaking with Noisey back in 2018, she noted that “there’s something about making a song that everybody can sing and remember, and when you listen to it the first time you already know the words by the second chorus, like you’ve always known the song. I’m obsessed with that idea.” Whether that comes at the cost of more robust or enlightened songwriting depends on the expectations you place upon pop stars to adhere to a certain standard of performing pop music.
Petras will be embarking on her third headlining tour, the Feed The Beast World Tour, in support of the album. Beginning in California this August and ending in Italy next spring, the tour will span 39 total shows across the globe. Find all tour dates and ticket packages here.
You can stream Feed The Beast on Spotify and Apple Music, and check out the digital and physical bundles for purchase here!