Hole
Nobody's Daughter

April 2010: a new return to the scene for Hole, the band of the most talked-about widow of rock (hated and loved), "Nobody's Daughter" comes out after twelve years from the last project under the Hole name titled "Celebrity Skin" and a very forgettable solo album by Courtney Love in 2004, even called "a disaster" by the frontwoman herself.

The album is preceded by the first single "Skinny little bitch" which brings back the vibes of "Live through this" (the success of 1994) but technically more refined, not very original but a good rock piece. The new lineup of Hole includes only Courtney Love from the original members, the rest of the lineup is completely renewed and does not even feature the participation of guitarist and band co-founder Eric Erlandson (apparently not even consulted by Love) the new members are: Micko Larkin, Shawn Dailey, and Stuart Fisher. The album would be more akin to a duo project, given that the only Hole member who creatively participated in the work is Micko Larkin, the new guitarist and co-producer of "Nobody's Daughter." The atmospheres and sounds continue what was stated with "Celebrity Skin" but in a more mature way, I find it a more adult and less glossy album yet still easily catchy. It's no coincidence that we find trusty Micheal Beinhorn again for production, and behind a handful of tracks, longtime friend Billy Corgan and Linda Perry. Personally, my favorite pieces are more of those written by the Love-Larkin duo rather than those with Corgan's hand.

Not a masterpiece, nor a success like its predecessors, partly due to uneven promotion indeed no music video was shot, but eleven tracks that are enjoyable and engaging, Courtney's voice, though aged and weighed down by time and excesses, sounds still warm and enveloping now more than ever like a rock version of Marianne Faithfull. The title track has an epic sound, as many have said it is the "Gold Dust Woman" of these new Hole, "Skinny little bitch" immediately stands out among other tracks like the Californian ballad "Pacific Coast Highway", "Samantha", the pop-rock gem "Someone else's bed" sounds like a Britpop track freed by a shouted chorus, the soft "For once in your life" equally flavored with Brit pop and then one of the most beautiful tracks written with Linda Perry "Letter to god". Another mention goes to the subsequent tracks "Loser dust" and "How dirty girls get clean", robust and gritty sound, and especially the latter which recalls Bob Dylan. Excellent production and very beautiful lyrics, but after all this time the album could have contained more material given the demos circulating online (which were intended for a second solo album by Courtney eventually developed into this "Nobody's Daughter"). A pity that tracks like "Car crash", "Sunset Marquis" and "Happy ending story" reduced to a b-side were cut out, they would have made the final result more interesting.

Objectively it remains a good album that, aided by better promotion, could have been more appreciated and known.