Alanis Morissette - Havoc and Bright Lights

Okay so chances are, like me, you've been every so slightly but repeatedly irritated by the 15 second clip of 'Guardian' before every other YouTube video so I'll keep the introduction brief and just try and replace that chorus in my head with something else.

Ah, drats. It's the first track.

Basically: the best album since Under Rug Swept. But then that's not saying a lot, is it? Albums from Morissette have now taken the mantle of being that of someone regarded by most as past-it; an unfair statement and rather indicative of the pop world's swelling necessity to be young, pretty and cool. Sadly, Havoc and Bright Lights will fail to garner new fans, but it should go some way to quash the fears of her old ones. The production's a little too shiny and fake for any real punches to be thrown (although Woman Down is her best attempt), but she sounds mature and at peace here. So that's nice.

Rating: 5.5/10
Highlights: Woman Down, Empathy, Guardian, Spiral, Numb
Avoid: Til You, Celebrity, Lens

Artwork Watch: I've seen adverts for incontinence pads that have been edgier.
Up next: No Doubt