Undeniably the artist born Alecia Beth Moore has talent and loads of it. She has a knack for earwormy singalongs and she has frequently revealed an impressive artistic depth. Which makes her sixth LP all the more disheartening. In the four years since Funhouse, Pink has confirmed her status as an activist who has opinions on the world; fought to hold her marriage together; and become a mother, giving birth to a daughter in 2011. Despite these real life dramas, The Truth About Love offers few moments of real inspiration.
In fairness, Pink gets off to a strong start. ‘Are We All We Are?’ may be calculated – but it mines the ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’ well just about perfectly. ‘Blow Me (One Last Kiss)’ rides a euro dance wave and throws in an impressive high reaching falsetto hook or two, whilst ‘Try’ is a standout, carrying a subtle twinkle and cool, Cars-like new wave throb.
In contrast, ‘Just Give Me A Reason’ squanders a lovely piano line once Nate Ruess arrives, his weak vocals reducing it to a Glee-type exercise. Of the other duets, ‘True Love’ with Lily Allen is far better; but ‘Here Comes The Weekend’ tends to confirm Eminem’s fall from grace: it is clichéd and vapid. Elsewhere, ‘Beam Me Up’ is about as enticing as Mr. Spock on the pull; ‘Slut Like You’ and ‘Walk Of Shame’ are oddly misogynistic; needless, try-hard vulgarities crop up regularly; and, overall, there’s no real sense of growth. There are superb flourishes – the twisting string undercurrent and playground chant of the opener, for example. But that’s not enough to makeThe Truth About Love an essential purchase. And guess what? It’s just become her first Billboard No.1, so what do I know?