Christina Aguilera is back with a new, hip sound for 2018. Listening to her past couple of albums, one can pick out which artists and trends Aguilera was borrowing from at the time. Liberation does the same.
Aguilera’s voice has never been the problem with her music, in fact, it’s instantly recognisable. Across Liberation, Aguilera’s iconic soprano grabs your attention, like on the piano-driven ‘Twice’. The chorus of the song is a beautiful moment on the album when her voice soars into the heavens. ‘Fall In Line’ is another highlight. It’s an epic female empowerment song thematically similar to that of Aguilera’s 2003 hit ‘Can’t Hold Us Down’.
However, it’s clear when the popstar needs to pad her album with songs to fill in the runtime. Ironically, the best song is followed by the album’s worst. ‘Right Moves’ charges in with an awkward reggae-fusion beat. Of course, current chart-topping trends from trap beats, to moody R&B, to power-pop anthems are injected throughout every track but are at risk of sounding stale by Aguilera’s next album.
The intent here is to prove that Christina Aguilera has broken out of the chains of oppression and will not follow orders anymore. She’s certainly close to it until she gets comfortable with sounding relevant.
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