Alanis Morissette Underneath
Canadian Queen of Bad Break Up Songs Releases New Single on iTunes
Alanis Morissette previews new album, Flavors of Entanglement, with new single "Underneath".
Every few years Alanis Morissette has a bad break up, a change of spiritual direction and pours it all into gut wrenching guitar and angst driven music.
On “Underneath”, her latest single from upcoming album Flavors of Entanglement, Morissette reveals that this breakup has more to do with what lies underneath than the surface scratches.
The Queen of Bad Break Ups
Morissette enlisted Guy Sigsworth (Seal, Frou Frou) to produce her new effort. Now in her mid 30’s, she sounds more mature, and insightful than on previous more revenge-fuelled singles such as the ultimate kiss-off “You Outta Know”, the track that propelled her career into the international scene back in 1995.
Known for her edgy lyrics and biting tales of lovers gone astray, Morissette’s songs read like an open page of her diary. “Underneath” is torn from the latest volume of post-relationship trauma journal.
The song begins in what has become a signature formula for the Canadian superstar – lead lyric sung softly before sinking in with a fast paced louder chorus.
“Look at us rallying all our defenses,” she begins, "Look at us waging war in our bedroom / Look at us jumping ship in our dialogues,” she sings over a straight forward guitar melody.
Instead of seeking revenge or dishing on the external causes of the failed relationship, this time she searches deep inside her soul to find answers only she can give herself.
The lyrics of this record reveal a more mature woman less ready to trample her bad boyfriend and more a woman, who in a few years, will have tea with her ex under a sun shade in Victoria’s Buchard Gardens.
“So why spend all our time undressing our bandages / When we've the ultimate key to the cause / right here all underneath.”
Underneath the Flavors of Entanglement
While the song no doubt has therapeutic results for the singer-songwriter, as a lead-off single to a new album, it falls a little flat. Without a clear hook or distinctive melody, “Underneath” sounds more like an album track than a playlist staple.
Fans who have followed Morissette’s career will dive into this single with open arms, but casual listeners and those unfamiliar with previous work may quickly toss it off.
Morissette described her new album to Billboard as a “combination of everything” that incorporates more beats and loops than previous efforts. It should inspire listeners to "dance your face off". “Underneath”, unfortunately shows no sign of either.
Flavors of Entanglement is scheduled for a June 10 international release.
