CD Review
Artist: Alanis Morissette
Title: Flavors Of Entanglement
Label: Warner Music
Released: June 10th 2008 

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey (Ontario Correspondent - Canada)  

Alanis, a mere three years older than myself, has seemed to be a constant in my life, and an odd earmark of my generation. I have been an Alanis fan of old, from her days on ‘You Can't Do That On Television!' with her broad smile that differentiated her from the rest of the kids getting goo slopped on them, to her premiere album Alanis (where we both embraced the Julia Roberts Pretty Woman hairdo), to her embittered return to music in Jagged Little Pill (oh yes, I'm going there), and her spiritual enlightenment expressed in Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Alanis is like a big sister to me and many others, treading the path before us.    

I'm convinced that Morissette and Sarah McLachlan secretly have a rivalry based in the best abstract title of an album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, I mean, where does one end and the other start? So Flavors of Entanglement is just another memorable adage to this inspiring new collection.

You see, while Alanis has been in hiding these four years since her last album, she has found the time to meticulously listen to the music scene and where the good music is being moulded, shaped and formed into being. Somewhere along the way, all that scrupulous listening has garnered Alanis a fresh new sound discovered deep within the cutting edge of music, but at the heart, all Alanis. The strong, intelligent and serene whimsy of singers like Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap and Kate Havnevik has rubbed off enough on Alanis Morissette to make Flavors of Entanglement as challenging and progressive as any of those other women standing on the precipice of unique music.   

So perhaps Alanis Morissette's best move in the creation of this album was working with Guy Sigsworth. Producer auteur Guy Sigsworth is gorgeous...mostly because of his muses; Imogen Heap, Madonna, Kate Havnevik, Bjork, and now Alanis, whose beauty he captivates in poetic, otherworldly and yet concrete dimensions. Some of the songs in Flavors of Entanglement, such as the first track ‘Citizen Of The Planet,' sounds like a combination of ‘angry Alanis' (circa Jagged Little Pill), with a Kate Havnevik music lick, making the song captivating, delicious, bold and biting.

Yet, Alanis is a fully rounded human being, so her album is full of elegant ballads like ‘In Praise Of The Vulnerable Man' and the concluding song to the album ‘Incomplete.' All the songs are brilliant, but an insurmountable standout is ‘Straightjacket,' which heralds back to ‘You Oughta Know,' but with a belting techno-beat to it. I would love to see a music video of ‘Straightjacket' akin to an edgy version of Madonna's ‘Hung Up' music video!  

Alanis works her best when she bites, her calm and grounded demeanour in front of the camera discreetly hides the brilliant red fiery flame captured in the studio. Flavors of Entanglement adds a little more bass, and a little more new-techno then we are used to with Alanis, but it works so well with her defined and edgy vocals, the album is easy to embrace on first listen. Speaking of which, I love Morissette's vernacular and purposeful lyrics; her language is unusual and dynamic. It would be great to speak in riddles and have broad themes to our general conversation as her songs do. Morissette is a storyteller foremost, but lives in the metaphoric and slightly veiled world of poetics. She would have been huge during the 60s on this basis alone! All of the songs on this album are socially conscious and have commendable commentary. 

Simply put, this is the best music Alanis Morissette has ever brought to the table, which is saying something substantial. After all, Morissette defined a musical generation and helped broaden what women could sing about and still be international successes. You may think Alanis Morissette was famous before, but wait until this second wave hits shorelines.

Let me underestimate and say Flavors of Entanglement is freakin' unbelievably awesome!
 

Citizen Of The Planet
Underneath
Straightjacket
Versions Of Violence
Not As We
In Praise Of The Vulnerable Man
Moratorium
Torch
Giggling Again For No Reason
Tapes
Incomplete