\n<\/p>\n
\n\tMidway through Kim Petras\u2019<\/a> latest album Detour<\/em>, there\u2019s \u201cBrutalist,\u201d a song about buildings. \u201cThey took a knife to it, they took a bomb to it\/They bulldozered it, they didn\u2019t give a shit,\u201d Petras sings, the defeat in her tone set against gleaming synths and pop-rock percussion. \u201cIt really breaks my heart, what they did to it\/They really ruined it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tShe\u2019s not just talking about concrete and beams, but flesh, blood, and bones. \u201cBrutalist\u201d sinks into the memories Petras holds of her father, an architect who used to drive her to psychiatry appointments as a kid. She compares her sadness around those buildings being dismantled to the way some people may have perceived her transition. \u201cAgain and again, didn\u2019t come back a man,\u201d she sings. \u201cI guess I ruined it.\u201d The 33-year-old hasn\u2019t offered this level of personal insight on her past projects, which include her debut Feed the Beast<\/em><\/a> <\/em>and her would-have-been debut Probl\u00e9matique<\/em><\/a>, an LP that leaked online before she properly released it as her second album.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tDetour <\/em>is a kind of debut itself. In the past few years, the foundation of Petras\u2019 career began to crumble. Her creative partnership with Dr. Luke, which began a decade ago, often produced more scrutiny<\/a> than it did smash hits. \u201cUnholy,\u201d her collaboration with Sam Smith, made her the first trans woman to win Best Pop Duo\/Group Collaboration at the Grammy Awards<\/a> in 2023, but the win was tainted by the fact that it is maybe one of the worst songs either artist has ever made. Then, earlier this year, Petras begged to be released<\/a> from her major label contract with Republic Records, which she claimed endlessly delayed progress on Detour<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tRather than try to salvage a clearly failing framework, Petras bulldozered it. Detour <\/em>builds her up again as an act you can depend on for dynamic, motivated, and clear-eyed pop hits.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tPetras wastes no time arguing this case for herself. The opening three-track run of the album \u2014 the tone-setting \u201cDetour\u201d into the thudding standout \u201cDTLA\u201d into the MySpace-ready \u201cI Like Ur Look\u201d \u2014 creates a sense of excitement for the rest of the project. \u201cThis is the beginning of the end,\u201d Petras sings on \u201cDetour,\u201d the title track. \u201cEverything before is just pretend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n