''Red 4 Filth'' is the fourth studio album by American drag queen and recording artist

Alaska Thunderfuck Justin Andrew Honard (born March 6, 1985), best known by the stage name Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 or Alaska Thunderfuck and Mononymous person, mononymously as Alaska, is an American drag queen and singer from Erie, Pennsylvania. She is best know ...

, released on September 23, 2022. The album was promoted by ten pre-release singles, "Red", "Beautiful (Night 4 a) Breakdown", "Without Your Love", "Wow", "XOXOY2K", "Ask Me", "22", "Uh", "I Am Her (She Is Me)", and "Girlz Night". The album will be supported by her first North American headlining tour in Fall 2022. ''Red 4 Filth'' takes its name from a fake perfume she created on the fifth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

''.

Background and composition

The majority of the album was written during

COVID-19 lockdowns During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology), non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar socie ...

. In an interview with

Thrillist ''Thrillist'' is an online media website covering travel. ''Thrillist'' was founded in 2004 by Ben Lerer and Adam Rich. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands ''The Dodo'', NowThis News, and Seeker to form the digital media ...

, Alaska said that the album was inspired by the sounds of 1990s and 2000s music, citing

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. As such, it is often used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (Chicago), an 82-story resid ...

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven ...

, and

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

as specific touchpoints. In the music video for "Wow", Alaska performed out of drag with LA-based band the Disciplez as her backing band. "XOXOY2K" is a

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

track with

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

club beats that is inspired by early 2000s nostalgia. "Ask Me" is an

Ace of Base Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg. They achieved worldwide success following the release of their debut album, '' Happy Nation'', in 1992. L ...

-inspired pop song. "22" sees Alaska sing to her younger self and to "any young person who has ever felt like she didn't belong".

Critical reception

Sean Maunier of ''

Metro Weekly ''Metro Weekly'' is a free weekly magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community in Washington, D.C., United States. It was first published on May 5, 1994. ''Metro Weekly'' includes national and local news, intervi ...

'' wrote that "as inseparable as camp and comedy are from the Alaska brand, ''Red 4 Filth'' feels like it’s trying to be a more straightforward pop record, with some mixed results", and called the ''

Drag Race Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

'' references featured throughout the album "stale" given that Alaska is "four albums in, and so far removed from her time on the reality series". Maunier concluded that "Alaska managed to make the transition from reality star to recording artist better than most, but having set the bar high for herself, ''Red 4 Filth'' can’t help but come up short" and in spite of her "charisma and inimitable attitude", her most recent album lacks "the lightning in a bottle that made ''

Anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

'' work so well".

Track listing

References

{{Alaska Thunderfuck 2022 albums Alaska Thunderfuck albums Producer Entertainment Group albums