Flavors of Entanglement;; Alanis Morissette
After four years and a really overproduced, shallow and blustery album, a.k.a. “So-Called Chaos”, Alanis fans may now rejoice: this chick is back.
Armed with a legion of electronica effects and a brigade of stringed instruments, Alanis and new producer Guy Sigsworth have created “Flavors of Entanglement”, an avant-garde collection of 11(or 16) songs that range from heart-punching ballads of despair to crunching guitars blended with heavy percussion and deep vocal cuts. As many have attempted to align this with a former album (ex: URS is known as JLP 2) it simply cannot be. Of course the album “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” is the closest to this, it cannot be defined as the same kind of sound: SFIJ was a long-winded and even though affected by many electronic effects, it had a rougher texture to the music. FOE is refined, polished, and meticulously produced to perfection. It is also a more focused collection of songs: only 46 minutes long, while SFIJ was well over an hour. It retains in certain songs an extremely poppy sound, possibly in vein of SCC besides the fact that the pop songs on FOE are gorgeous, and more wholesome: call them “alternapop” if you will.
The Breakdown:
1) Citizen Of The Planet: This is my new favorite opening song (my previous favorite being “All I Really Want”). It starts with an infectious blend of Middle-easten-sounding percussion and mixes lightly with a deep electronic beat, and quiet vocals. Then the chorus comes. THEN THE CHORUS COMES.thenthechoruscomes. (Yeah it’s a big deal) Then your jaw is unhinged. The song picks up, the vocals are screened over a kickass, yet simple guitar orientation and drum setup. It dies down a tad, but with each choral uprise, it gets even more intense and built-up until the ending, which continues the guitar and mixes it with elegant stringed instruments, until it dies into a haunting, quiet ending. (5/5)
2) Underneath: The percussion sounds continue and develop into a beautiful, deep pounding. Quiet, disdained, pretty vocals lace your ears, then the chorus comes in and takes it all away: Alanis’s voice is a bit strained in this song, and due to this, it almost ruins it for me. Great lyrics, great instrumentation, but lackluster choral vocals. (3/5)
3) Straitjacket: On one hand, this is one of the most hated songs by listeners, on the other hand it’s one of the most loved by the other listeners. I’m a bit on the fence about some things in this song. The beginning and the bridge of this song is perfect, the instrumentation is perfect, but the vocals don’t suit the song overall. It all seems too forced. I do love that she is trying something new, and it still works. It’s extremely catchy if you listen to it just once or twice, and the lyrics are really good. Go now, and “dance your face off.” (3.5/5)
4) Versions of Violence: No, it’s not “Virgins of Violence” but this song is easily one of the best-sounding songs on this album. Its got a combination of extremely distorted guitars, extremely deep vocals, and counter-acting chorus that shows Alanis’s higher voice again. Ripping effects induce chills and the strings ultimately prevail in the end, mixing with the rabid guitars until an awesome climax into silence. (4.5/5)
5) Not As We: It’s a good song, great lyrics, great vocals, a perfect piano ballad. The production is actually a burden on this song: sometimes she sounds rushed, and the power that she gives in live performances is taken out due to premature changes in the song. It never builds like it should and the climax is rushed as well. (3.5/5) Live @ Nissan: (4.5/5)
6) In Praise of the Vulnerable Man: Nothing special here: I believe that this song should have been a b-side. It’s cute, and it sounds nice, and it is catchy, with a good idea behind it, but nothing special here. Also, I hate it when she incorporates “indeed’ in the chorus. (3/5)
7) Moratorium: First off: I was expecting more power in this song due to the live version, but I will not put it down for not having that extra oomph: it has a different vibe coming from it in the studio version. It is an “epic” song with pent up emotion, that releases itself through tremor-like bass shots through your speakers and quieted, mature vocals hovering through frosted atmosphere, along with mesmerizing dial-like tones and sound effects. The ending is an instrumental of the chorus and it eventually slows to gorgeous strings ringing in the end of the song. In between the verses, sometimes, a twisted sort of sound develops, giving a certain part of the song a dark tone. There is an immediacy here that is immaculate and impending: it is a statement through-and-though, she is declaring a moratorium, and you will listen. (5/5)
8)Torch: Slow, piano-driven, and painstakingly gorgeous. Torch is possibly the saddest song Alanis has written in years. Where Not As We has amazing lyrical work, Torch has very unremarkable lyrics, but where Not As We has lackluster production, Torch has an amazing power to pull your eyes from the depths of your head and rip tears from them (if you are a cryer–I’m not, but I still feel the power of this song.) Some say that this song is boring and to an extent they are correct: not all people have the attention span to sit through a powerful, emotionally charged super-ballad. It also sometimes sounds like its broken into 3 parts–the verses aren’t perfectly blended into each other–and I love that for some reason. The emotion seems to be more important in this song than lyrics, or even instrumentation, and it really works. (5/5)
9) Giggling Again For No Reason: I hate this title. I love this song. I do not like music this poppy, but guess what: I love this song. It has the essence of a quiet summer afternoon with a cool breeze sweeping over a beach (and since I am at a beach atm and it is just fucking gorgeous out here, this essence is really powerfully enhanced!!) I find that I don’t listen to the lyrics too much on this like I usually do: the production and vocals take the cake by far: Alanis hardly sings to a full outright extent, and she sounds amazing–especially with the harmonizing part close to the end. (5/5)
10) Tapes: I knew the first time I heard this song in Atlanta that this song was going to be amazing on the studio version. I was right. This song is easily better than any other ballad Alanis has recorded (yeah, even Torch that I rated 5 stars a minute ago). It is extremely powerful and more emotionally alive than any other song I have heard. The vocals are amazing, the harmonizing building-up of the “ahs” are astounding, and the instrumentation give off the perfect vibe. The lyrics are harrowingly sad, and well-written. It fades out, sadly, but it is just not enough to bring this masterpiece down: (5/5)
11) Incomplete: A perfect little pop song tinged with electronica and catchy enough to bring in a killing of fish, Incomplete is the flawless mix of Sigsworth and Morissette cooperation. Add that to wonderful vocals that mix the serenity of her present voice with the good-ol’fashioned strained letters (ayayaye) we love Alanis for (lyiyiyine!!) and you get an awesome ending to an awesome album. I don’t actually like the final guitar pluck though–most people seem to love that. I think its a slight overkill. (4.5/5)
I do not have time to write too much more, so I will not write out the extra tracks’ reviews just yet–but I will post the ratings!
20/20: (4.5/5)
Orchid: (4/5)
The Guy Who Leaves: (4/5)
Limbo No More: (5/5)
On The Tequila: (2/5)
Madness: (4.5/5)
Overall: I really love the sound of this album, from the mix of electronica and strings to the devastatingly accentuated emotional power provided by the production and vocals. I love the vocals throughout the album: she has never sounded so perfect and the combination of these two factors creates something that Alanis (in my opinion) has never done: she has created a sonically perfect album–with intellectual Bravado to spare. (4.5/5)
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