P!nk - The Truth About Love

Since the dawn of time P!nk has been releasing albums that consist of an introductory "FUCK YEAH I'M INDEPENDENT NOW!" anthem and is then followed with two or three "Oh christ I'm so lonely" ballads. The world still laps them up. Why? I'm not sure, but I'm guilty of it too - I own CDs of Try This and Funhouse - and the more I think about it the less I consider it a crime.

For all of international pop's permanent mainstayers in the public eye, P!nk is one of the most tolerable. She's not as talentless as Britney or J-Lo; she's not as much of a self-righteous prick as Christina or GaGa, and she's not absolutely everywhere like Rihanna or Katy Perry. Despite her very samey promotional formula over the past ten years, she's taken risks and been unafraid to wear her heart on her sleeve without resorting to overly upfront sex or celebrity tittle tattle. Her pop music seems to actually posess venom; where others might allude to an ex-boyfriend or their vagina with a coy double entendre, P!nk will actually come out and say "so what? I'm still a rockstar".

Her sixth album in twelve years begins, then, with the curiously existential 'Are we all we Are?', which, rather than a deep examination of the psyche, throws out youth and protest lyrics ("we are the people you'll never get the best of") and, fairly catchy rhythms and chorus aside, it's a little too vague to carry any weight. The ballsy statements are only amplified then in the two singles: 'Blow Me (One Last Kiss)' even from the title demonstrates a tongue-in-cheek (or cheesy, depending on your sensibility) kiss-off, but, as is the case with all P!nk lead singles, is ridiculously catchy and full of venom. "I think you're full of shit!" Moore shrugs in a colossal power-pop chorus, and although the "Just when it can't get worse..." lyric seems a little shrill, it's otherwise a fine career high. Similarly, 'Try', from the producer behind singles such as Bad Boys (Alexandra Burke), If We Never Meet Again (Timbaland) and - more tellingly - Dark Side (Kelly Clarkson), busbee, follows that whole powerhouse vocal-chorus followed by a defeated, vulnerable repetition trend.

A recent rarity for P!nk is the idea of collaborations on her own albums: she's had a fair past of it on others or soundtracks (Eminem's Won't Back Down; that cover of Lady Marmalade) but not since 2006's Dear Mr. President has she had one. Here, she has three, and they're all considerable heavyweights. First: fun.'s Nate Ruess pops up on 'Just Give Me a Reason', which is 50 shades of uninspired. The melody is relatively sweet and their vocals are, again, faultless, but the slow pianos and clap-drums are just a touch excruciating. Next, Lily Allen (now Lily Rose Cooper, a name I refuse to endorse) has a...shortlived appearance on 'True Love', one of the album's giddiest and endearing songs. I'm a sucker for Greg Kurstin productions I guess. Allen's spot, though, seems distant and slightly disinterested, offering up "without you I'm incomplete" as the most disappointing collaboration of the century. Before you go thinking this is all sugary and romantic, though, 'How Come You're Not Here' asks "did you go for a long walk off a short pier?" and then 'Slut Like You'... well, it's a fairly feminist kick-ass moment, let's just say.

It's just sad, then, that such ballsy moments are drowned out by pretty unremarkable and boring musings of romance - there's nothing particularly self-revelatory here, just a predictable melody. 'Beam Me Up', as pretty as it is, doesn't really steal the show or boast anything outstandingly beautiful. Thankfully Kurstin returns on 'Walk of Shame', a pretty middle-of-the-road but amusing ode to modern femininity and sexual freedom. Third pop-up namedrop is none other than Eminem on 'Here Comes the Weekend', and the promise is all there - it's a very listenable and fine song - but there's a surprisingly restrained quality about the production that just completely undersells the whole thing, and that's a shame since this should be a showstealer. It's difficult to summon words other than 'what you'd expect' to describe 'Where did the Beat Go?', a bit of a P!nk throwback, sounding vaguely reminiscent of material you might find on M!ssundaztood, but without the energy. "Everyone you know is trynna smooth it over", Moore complains on closer 'The Great Escape' (a nicely sung and arranged ballad), but in a way that lyric is endemic of the whole album.

Far from a hauntingly personal or insightfully beautiful collection of love (or heartbreak) songs, P!nk instead presents a couple of her old ideas repackaged, and whilst there's always going to be the two or three great pop songs from her, it's difficult to put up with that when they're followed by lacklustre and, frankly, dull filler. Unlike most of her counterparts, however, the filler is in the minority here, and there's definitely something for everyone to take away from this.

Rating: 5.5/10
Highlights: Blow Me (One Last Kiss), How Come You're Not Here, Try, True Love, The Great Escape
Avoid: The Truth About Love, Beam Me Up, Where did the Beat Go?

Artwork Watch: I can only assume getting out of that position isn't a graceful process.
Up next: Alt-J