"This Is Acting," Sia's seventh studio album, was released on January 29.
The record comes as a quick follow-up to 2014's "1,000 Forms of Fear," an album that had a serious tone; its lyrical content covered everything from struggling with mental illness to drug addiction. However, the album still managed to be a dynamite electro-pop hit that garnered critical acclaim. In addition, Sia decided she no longer wanted to be featured in her music videos and instead cast her muse, "Dance Moms" member Maddie Ziegler, in a video trilogy that has amassed over a billion views on YouTube.
Now, back to "This Is Acting." The production behind these songs is wonderful, and Sia's haunting vocals are able to carry each song with a unique style and cadence. Sonically, the album sounds fantastic. Sia is, without a doubt, talented with a formulaic greatness. As she has refused to show her face to the public for years, her work possesses an element of mystery. She wrote majority of the album, with Kanye West and Adele also securing writing credits.
The concept for "This Is Acting" is interesting: Sia took songs that were originally written for other artists such as Rihanna and Adele that were rejected and kept them to herself. Only "One Million Bullets," which is arguably one of the strongest songs on the album, was originally written for Sia herself. "Bird Set Free" was meant for the "Pitch Perfect 2" soundtrack, and "Alive" is literally about Adele's life. Therefore, the album somewhat serves as a mosaic of sorts, but unfortunately, it feels like a compilation of b-sides. Unlike "1,000 Forms of Fear," it doesn't sound like a concrete story with a beginning, middle, and end is being told. There has also been some gripe about Ziegler not being used in the "Alive" music video; instead, child karate star Mahiro Takano was used. Ziegler and Sia's live performance of "Alive" on The Ellen Show was widely and positively received, with some arguing that this was better than the actual music video.
Overall, "This Is Acting" is a double-edged sword: her singing is strong and sharp, and slightly different depending on the song, but the album looses that one-of-a-kind-ness with songs that feel like "leftovers."
Reach Staff Reporter Adrianne Ramsey here.
Annenberg Media