P!nk
The Truth About Love

P!nk represents quite a rare case within what is commonly referred to as "puttan pop". The ultimate anti-diva, defiant, ironic, spicy, crude in her look, and anything but a refined lover of cover-page bon ton, Alecia Moore has always known how to stand out - and I would say excellently - from the crowd of glamour queens and music runway princesses. The crowning of such an inclination toward conscious disorder were, just to name a few examples, a photo of her urinating in the middle of a roadway or the hilarious joke-music videos - female counterparts to her friend Eminem - which ridiculed hated Paris Hilton-like twits (Stupid Girls) and even her temporarily failed marriage (So What and Please Don't Leave Me). Yet, despite the emblematic cauldron of pop-rock mockery, P!nk has not been - and is not - just the rebellious pseudo-punk never serious, sweet, and reflective: just mention her hip-hop/R&B beginnings (There You Go, Most Girls, Lady Marmalade) during which she seemed like one of Timbaland and partners' discoveries in full ghetto-style, but also the latest of her transformations: from the "dirty" rocker chick to the mature lady of good commercial pop not excessively glitzy.

"The Truth About Love" serves as the ultimate confirmation of such a metamorphosis. Releasing four years after "Funhouse" and two from "Greatest Hit...So Far!!!", Alecia's sixth album offers an even more sober and elegant image - although in "P!nk-ian" terms, the result of a reconciled marriage, newfound motherhood, and, therefore, the obvious choice to embark on a less aggressive, biting, "dirty," and above all circusy style. We are faced with a good pop-rock production that tends to wink at the charts but without displaying blatant and banal cheap commercialism. Dynamic and spicy tracks akin to So What give way to soft and cushioned ballads and even a few trendy synth-dance tunes, all encompassing the best tradition of the artist.

Within this fine bunch, there's plenty of choice for those in search of the best carefree radio pop: Blow Me (One Last Kiss) kicks off the new P!nk-ian season with a simple dance-rock sound, the rowdy and irreverent Slut Like You comes across as aggressive, cacophonous and terribly funk, True Love (with Lily Allen) is a true breath of fresh and summery air with timid ska-ragga shades, while the title track The Truth About Love adds a delicious folk-new wave note. Alongside these are the melodic-alternative hints of Just Give Me A Reason, performed with the showy leader of Fun. Nate Ruess, the psychedelic featuring with Eminem Here Comes The Weekend, as well as the pleasant romantic ballads (also in a sort of unplugged format) Try, Beam Me Up and The Great Escape.

Do you remember the lively miss who mocked the Stupid Girls (mercilessly imitating their bulimic poses and classic rubbing against a soaped-up flashy car) or who sawed in half a tree that contained a mischievous and improper love carving? And the mischievous cow-girl in Try? And still the anti-Bush political dissident in Dear President? Well, go ahead and shelve the related exaggerations from these public displays and enjoy a mom-wife-rocker who is a bit sweeter and more romantic, yet with the leonine grit and brash informality that elevated her to the enviable podium of non-puttan pop stars.

P!nk, "The Truth About Love"

Are We All We Are - Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - Try - Just Give Me A Reason - True Love - How Come You're Not Here - Slut Like You - The Truth About Love - Beam Me Up - Walk Of Shame - Here Comes The Weekend - Where Did The Beat Go? - The