Rebecca Black, the twenty-seven-year-old singer who burst onto the scene in 2011 with her incredibly viral and notably poorly received single “Friday,” released her sophomore album SALVATION on (surprisingly) Thursday, February 27th. The album, much her 2023 debut album Let Her Burn, takes an understandable departure from her fifteen-year-old self on “Friday,” as she leans into a more mature electropop sound with obvious influence coming from house music and club scenes. However, one thing Black never lost over the fourteen years since her debut was the emphasis on “Partyin’, Partyin’” and “Fun, fun, fun, fun” that “Friday” first introduced in 2011. SALVATION cares just as much for frivolous fun as Friday did, but in a much more modern package – one obviously meant to be blasted in a nightclub rather than a car full of middle school girls.
SALVATION is a seven track, twenty-one-minute-long album that doesn’t stand out as alarmingly original in the electronic dance music renaissance – one that’s been pushed into the mainstream by Charli xcx’s 2024 album BRAT. Many of SALVANTION’s moments feel as though they could be outtakes for other, more notable artists, with songs like “TRUST!” feeling like a mashup of Grimes in the introduction, Kesha’s latest single “Joyride” in the instrumental, and Lady Gaga in the post-chorus. The concluding track “Twist the Knife” also has the same 2010s Gaga flair as “TRUST!” Other tracks like “American Doll” and “Tears In My Pocket” also suffer from bring nothing interesting or original, with somewhat grating hooks taking value away from their danceable beats and Black’s undeniably refined vocals.
Despite its pitfalls, SALVATION has an undeniable catchiness to it that covers up for a lot of its faults. Nobody in the club is going to notice the half-baked lyricism of the title track “Salvation” when they’re too busy dancing to its hypnotic chorus and steady beat. Even songs like “Sugar Water Cyanide” who chart pretty close to “Friday” on the annoying scale can be total fun in the right circumstances, with just the right amount of rainbow club lighting. Though tracks like “Do You Even Think About Me?” try to be a more emotional, “deep” take on the dance pop format, Black never forgets her place, making sure to accompany everything with interesting techno rave production and variation that makes the song enjoyable even if you’re not listening to the words (as she probably expects).
With SALVATION, Rebecca Black has undeniably grown as an artist, attempting to establish herself within a genre that she more closely identifies with and is more successful in. The album is nothing redefining or revolutionary, but Black’s sentiment in “Twist the Knife” that “I would rather burn myself alive, dancing ‘til I die” is truly the main message the entire work is trying to get across. Its simple yet often addicting production pays no mind to being anything other than fun, danceable music meant to make people move. Though it’s imperfect, some things aren’t meant to be taken quite so seriously, and SALVATION is one of them. With SALVATION, Rebecca Black reaffirms her place in the dance pop world and showcases her growth while reminding people some things never change. Even fourteen years after her debut single “Friday,” her music is still focused on fun, and on that level it delivers completely.
Photo Credits from El Rey Theater
