Diamond Needle

What do you do when you're a chart-topping popstar whose third album goes unexpectedly below the radar? You come back with stomping electro-rock-pop tunes aplenty and reclaim your status as a world-beater. What do you do then? Take a year out to make your most varied and personal record to date? P!nk did. Is Funhouse enjoyable euphoria or maddening misery?


P!nk - Funhouse
You've probably only avoided P!nk's smash hit comeback single 'So What' if you've been providing a home for insects living under a rock. It boasts the biggest hook arguably by any song since 'Crazy In Love' (though this will age more kindly) and plenty of tongue-in-cheek husband-bashing lyrics ('I'm gonna drink my money, I'm not gonna pay his rent'). No P!nk album is complete without a healthy dose of Max Martin and on So What he delivers his best spunk yet; this is utterly perfect pop. 'Sober' slows the tempo; it's a sad affair with lonely lyrics softly sung until the chorus explodes, sporting a simple syllables-in-pairs hook. Sticking with one producer may have proved more sensible here; Tony Kanal of No Doubt fame and R&B hitmaker Danja both have (vastly different) distinctive styles, but coming together you'd guess it was made by somebody altogether less prolific. The overly-understated production is the only criticism of an otherwise great song which combines melancholy with radio-friendliness effortlessly.

'I Don't Believe You' is a stripped-back ballad which seems placed irrationally early in the tracklist, killing all of the pace created previously. Despite this it's a truly beautiful reminder that whatever feist there may be in P!nk, she's capable of real emotion and longing - and much more of it than the average pop princess. 'One Foot Wrong', the sole contribution from producer Eg White, is an absolute mis-step, a song so sparse and miserable and so without merit that it warrants no repeat listens. Things improve with 'Please Don't Leave Me', an upbeat love song and an obvious hit. The pleading chorus of 'I always say how I don't need you but it's always gonna come right back to this; please, please don't leave me' is packed with a genuine warmth few others can achieve.

The parade through radio territory continues on 'Bad Influence', a party anthem with throwbacks to 2006's 'U & Ur Hand'. P!nk manages to turn the chorus' generic reverb of 'you, you, you' into something altogether more quirky, once again showing off her ability to take a trend and rip it apart. The album's title track is another uptempo with a glorious hook succeeded by a countdown to 'fun'. It feels so tailor-made for arena performances that any low-key showing just would not do; Tony Kanal did a much better job here and it shows, the influences of his own work not exactly hiding in the corner. 'Crystal Ball' takes an opposing route, all stripped-back guitars and softly-uttered vocals. P!nk is so adaptable that she's just as believable cooing 'i'm not scared at all of the cracks in the crystal' as she is boasting about midnight parties and the punch-ups which follow. On 'Mean', a Butch Walker production with more than a hint of country, she poses the question 'how did we get so mean?'. An acknowledgment of her natural flaws, it's something few will struggle to relate to.

'It's All Your Fault' is the heaviest, most rock-infused song on the album, harking back to 2003's 'Last To Know'. It's an unconventional love song which sees P!nk lose patience as she demands some acknowledgement of her efforts; 'I hold my breath because you are perfect, but I'm running out of air, and it's not fair'. The same vibe is carried forward to 'Ave Mary A', whose theme is not altogether dissimilar from that of earlier hit 'Dear Mr President', highlighting the wrongs of the world. It manages to not only pack a punch but convey severe sadness, as our heroine mourns 'where did you go?'. Closer 'Glitter in the Air' sees the return of the subtle vocal delivery over a tinkly piano beat. As ever it's believable and lovely.

Bonus track 'This Is How It Goes Down' pays homage to P!nk's R&B roots, though not without a heavy drum-led intro, but a final highlight is 'Boring', a joyful uptempo brimming with with delicious parody ('if you don't get it right, I'ma be like really really mad! Insert rap here!'). Perhaps it failed to make the cut because P!nk wanted the album to be a little more sensitive and emotional than her previous work, but all the same it's a gem which deserves to be heard.

Funhouse is an album shining with artistic merit. P!nk is quite possibly the most skillful of the mainstream pop stars; her large range and gravelly tones allow for almost any kind of emotion; few others could fit as many contrasting feelings into one song without it sounding contrived or false. It seems the public understand her too; five albums in she's at her peak, selling out arenas like she were the Beatles reunited, setting trends Madonna could only dream of, combining the beauty of operatic divas with the electricity of a rock band.

So is Funhouse enjoyable euphoria or maddening misery? It's both. And she wouldn't have it any other way.