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If breaking-up with someone could be classed as a concept album than this would
be Pink
’s first attempt at one, and what an effort it is. As you would expect with Pink
it
’s powerful, loud and incredibly raw.
Opening track ‘So What’ would be a tongue-in-cheek reply to all the speculation that proved to be true.
You could say bitter, you may prefer to be kinder and point to positivity. With
a classic dig at pop (Jessica Simpson in this case), a hard-hitting beat and
venom-ridden vocals-
“I guess I just lost my husband/I don’t know where he went.”
There are many who have unfairly labelled this album as a laughable contender
to classic breakup albums and why it may not deal with the issues involved as
conventionally as some, there are some classics.
‘I Don’t Believe You’ uses the raw ferocity of Pink’s voice with a tear-jerking undertone and a solemn guitar. A really moving
effort with a genre-defining violin overture and her voice is more than worthy
of taking on heavyweights of the category.
‘It’s All Your Fault’ is
another example of this. Featuring a catchy beat which explodes into a heavy
noise epic, dealing
with yet another different emotion such circumstances can cause.
‘This is How it Goes Down’ features all Pink’s trademark attitude and again is inescapably close-to-the-bone. The anger phase
of the breakup process, thinking of all the things that you can now do now that
there are no discerning eyes on you- gonna try that threesome and hang out with
all the friends you hate. You could boil an egg on Corey
’s ears after this collection was released. ‘Boring’ is again addressing the new-found single-status borrowing a trick or two from
the likes of Sugababes with certain sexual innuendos.
‘Crystal Ball’ however does not quite encapsulate the spirit as well. ‘Mean’ is again directly referencing the aforementioned heartache and whilst dealing
with the subject matter somewhat more successfully it has a rather unattractive
cheap odour about it. Title-track
‘Funhouse’ is again a bit of a disappointment with lyrics that may make sense to Pink but
just sound a bit cringe-worthy on record, notably the predominant chorus.
Filler track
‘Glitter in the Air’ tries to be philosophical and moving but again suffers from lyrical
inadequacies which underpin any appeal it may have had.
As a breakup record it certainly takes the listener through a whirlwind of
emotions that one can only associate with after experiencing a particularly
messy, volatile and draining parting. Some tracks personify this well, others
not so well but the stinging consensus of criticism is harsh. It
’s a good attempt and God loves a tryer, even a really angry one. 6.5/10 CM
