At midnight last Friday, This is Acting was released. This is Sia’s seventh album, which she calls “an experiment.” She looked to record and release songs she had previously written for other artists like Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Adele, and Shakira. As the singer-songwriter put it, reflecting on the fact that she ended up making the album herself, “I felt like they were hits, but nobody wanted them.”
Sia’s vulnerability comes through when listening to these tracks. The flow of the tracks, however, is muddled. The beginning of the album sounds like typical Sia. For the first six songs, the album seems to be going according to the singer’s usual formula. Her songs usually consist of a slow beginning, starting with a solo piano, then her voice builds, until she reaches some high note with the repetitive lyrics speaking of confidence, then the song comes down from its high.
Confidence is never a bad thing, and it is wonderful for powerful anthems about feeling “Alive” or “Unstoppable,” as two of the tracks are named. But when the pattern is close to identical for the first six tracks, it can feel repetitive and stale. Individually, the songs are actually pretty engaging, but together, they start to feel unoriginal and, quite frankly, a little boring.
Sia finally breaks out of her normal style starting with the track “Reaper,” which was co-written by Kanye West. This track has a catchy start and sticks out in the album. A bit more adventurous with the backing track, the computer-generated sound complements the lyrics and gives the song a cool, edgy vibe. She keeps this trend going with the next song, “House on Fire.” Perhaps it’s the lyrics that are a nice change from the beginning of the album. The whole idea of comparing herself to a house on fire and needing oxygen to keep burning adds a tangible vulnerability to the song. The next song, “Footprints,” does sink back a bit into the formulaic feel, although the lyrics set it apart. The message of trust and love through hard times is uplifting.
Following “Footprints” comes “Sweet Design.” This song seems to come out of nowhere, using a strong computerized beat with a high-pitched voice. The lyrics seem absolutely meaningless—usually Sia’s music has some point to it, but it’s extremely difficult to find anything here. Her voice seems out of pitch in places, and even the backtrack is awful.
The eleventh song on the album, “Broken Glass,” takes a completely different turn from “Sweet Design.” The lyrics, the progression of pitch, and the background are spot-on. The singer-songwriter sings about the importance of the love she has and how she isn’t discarding the person like broken glass. If Sia tapped into the essence of this song, she could possibly draw from a wider audience and keep her sound fresh. To end the album, Sia slows down with “Space Between.” None of her other songs are as slow and somber as this track. Her beautiful vocals have a haunting, unsettling quality to them—an interesting way to end the album.
While many of the tracks on this album are intriguing and thought-provoking, it is easy to understand how some of them were turned down by big names in the business. On her seventh album, Sia may be using this album as a stepping-stone toward reinventing her style and exploring some options.
Featured Image By Inertia Records
