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Sia's This Is Acting Album Review

By Claire Rodriguez

On April 11, 2016

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Sia’s newest album, “This is Acting," opened up with a song entitled “Bird Set Free,” which starts off with a simple piano background and grows in power as the song goes on. The song sends a message of empowerment, confidence, and defiance of haters with lines like: “I don’t care if I sing off key, I found my melody, I sing for love, I sing for me, I shout it out like a bird set free.” Safe to say, the first song sets the tone for the rest of the album.

Her empowering songs set a strong tone for the album as a whole. The second song on the album, “Alive” is an example of this, but her song “Unstoppable” stands out especially as there seems to be an almost melancholy air to it; “I put my armor on, I’ll show you that I am, I’m unstoppable.” The whole song portrays, metaphorically, that maintaining composure on the outside can be very difficult when you feel anything but composed within. It also shows that Sia is definitely not letting that take her down. “Reaper” is another defiant song on the album, sounding similar to “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera stating, “You tried to take me down, you follow me like the darkest cloud, but no baby, no baby not today”.

While the empowering strength of her first songs of the album set the tone, her love songs are nothing to sneeze at either. All romantic on their own, they each portray a different love story in and of themselves. The first, “One Million Bullets,” is akin to Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” in the chorus. Meanwhile, “House on Fire” is a passionate number about falling in love. If you like Daughtry’s “Crashed,” you’ll probably love this song. “Broken Glass” is more reflective of fighting for love, struggling to hold on to something that may be slipping away. As far as love songs go, “Footprints” and “Space Between” are standouts on the album. While “Footprints” shows being saved by love that you thought you’d lost, “Space Between” is a song sung with raw emotion about throwing in the towel at someone you used to love. “Footprints” portrays hope, bouncing back from the edge. “Space Between” puts on display the raw heartbreak of how it feels to give up on love or a relationship.

Of all the music on the album, Sia’s two dance song, “Cheap Thrills” and “Move Your Body” along with “Sweet Design” are all definitely songs that could be played at a dance or club, but they are drowned out by the more meaningful songs on the album. Although “Move Your Body” is positioned just right to provide a break from the serious section of the album, it’s similar to Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance,”, only with Sia’s signature voice, of course. “Cheap Thrills” follows along the same lines, providing a break but not standing out. And then there’s “Sweet Design”, which you definitely have to look up the lyrics to understand. The odd beat makes me believe, however, that it can be categorized with the other dance songs.

Overall, Sia’s new album is incredible. The empowerment message and love songs make the album more than worth listening to. Seriously, this album would be fantastic to listen to if you’ve had a rough day just because it’s got a good mix of everything.