When I spoke to Kim Petras in 2020 she already had envisioned what she wanted her debut album to feel like and embody. There have been lots of delays and changes since then for it to come out, but she’s finally unveiled ‘Feed The Beast’, and the sentiment she had back in 2020 is definitely still engrained in its final form, even if all the songs may be different. 

“I have always been into pop escapism and I think all of my favourite albums have done that. Like Marina And The Diamonds ‘Electra Heart’, ‘Love Angel Music Baby’ by Gwen Stefani and like every Madonna album” she explained. “My main goal for this record is for it to feel cohesive and for it to be one sound”.  

As a whole ‘Feed The Beat’ is a pop escapism record that delivers hard hitting pop, with polished hooks, and a mix of honest and playful lyrics. From start to finish it’s cohesive and immediately brings you into a very visualised world she’s created for her fans to immerse themselves in. You can clearly imagine how theatrical and visually leaning the live show will be by just hearing the record as a whole. 

It’s inspired by late 90’s and early 2000’s with a strong underground Y2K energy that is a little rough and punk inspired, but still manages to be hyper-pop and polished at the same time. Opening song and title track “Feed The Beast”, and the hypnotic “King Of Hearts” perfectly set the tone for the record with the energy at an all time high, and the theatrical elements at large. “uhoh” takes you to a club in the mid 2000’s with a hook that Lady Gaga and Kesha would be envy of, and “Castle In The Sky” is a Cascada song through and through that I’m convinced Kim has stolen off her server. Whilst “Sex Talk” and “Revelations” feel like a throwback to Kim’s “I Don’t Want It All” and “Heart To Break” era, and “Hit It From The Back” finally gets a release after teasing it for two years. 

Even though the energy of the album is mostly quite strong, she does deliver softer melodic moments like “Thousand Pieces” which contains her best songwriting moment on the record with; “Everything can break in two, but a heart can break into a thousand pieces” – I felt that. But the album’s key centrepiece is “Claws” which just already feels like an essential Kim Petras track. “Cause you dig your claws right into my heart so I won’t forget ya” she sings during the infectious hook. 

‘Feed The Beast’ is a brilliant debut pop record that brings all of the elements you’ve loved about Kim Petras over the years into one 15 song sitting. It’s a fun record that doesn’t shy away from its task and embraces all of the nuances, and will have you immediately falling in love with it.