When most of us go through a break-up, we spend our evenings drinking bottles of Tesco Value wine and slurring words like ‘coulda’, ‘woulda’ and ’shoulda’. Not so Pink, who split up with hubbie Carey Hart in February after two years of marriage. Granted, she may have downed litres of vino - she jokes that France has called and asked for some wine back - but instead of moping she turned her grief into this, her fifth studio album. Enter Funhouse, a record pretty light on fun and not recorded in a house. We think. That Pink’s contrary isn’t she?
“I guess I just lost my husband, I don’t know where he went…” she begins on opener So What, shrugging off her loss in one easy move. After that you brace yourself for an album filled with ironic break-up references, full of brass, bluster and no little pop sensibility. But instead, this is Pink in full-on, wallowing break-up mode. The love has gone, will it ever be the same? The titles of tracks like I Don’t Believe You, It’s All Your Fault and Please Don’t Leave Me speak for themselves, and it’s easy to get a bit bogged down in the ‘woe is me’ emotion. The tempo changes on tracks like Funhouse and Bad Influence, the latter a pop super-stomper in the style of Moulin Rouge with a Cossack backbeat. Really. Pink also pulls out her country leanings on the lilting Crystal Ball, and her rock chick rears again on Mean.
So does she get away with it? Just about. You see, Pink could sing about lampshades for sale and still make it sound enticing. Why? Because she’s the real deal. Her voice is edgy and raw, full of emotion and she sings like she means it. We hope Pink’s next album comes from a happier place, but even in her torment, she’s still one of pop’s premier players.
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Pink’s Funhouse is out now.
(Clare Lydon)
