Havoc And Bright Lights

Alanis Morissette has all the reasons to enjoy her life

Canadian singer Alanis Morissette’s eighth album took quite a while to come along. The artist kept her audience without fresh releases for four years while working hard on her family life, and only not long ago did she come back to her music business. The new record is called Havoc And Bright Lights and was released by Alanis’s own label. Chances are that the best promotion to this CD, apart from the performer’s name, is granted by the name of the producer who took care of this album. Guy Sigsworth used to collaborate tightly with Bjork, Seal and Madonna, and he is the one who knows everything or almost everything about this craft. Presenting the release of Havoc And Bright Lights, Alanis reminded her listeners that each of her albums is a reflection of current events in her life and experiences and impressions aroused by them. Morissette, now a happy mother and wife, could simply not record a brighter and more joyful CD than given album, which comes to contrast with the atmosphere of the previous release back from 2008. Well, we are already accustomed to Alanis, always unpredictable, incomparably open and emotional.

Euphoria unlimited

Single Guardian opening Havoc And Bright Lights crushes down on you with a wave of euphoria, and in the beginning you come to think that this just the one track that is placed here specially to liven up the listener and then passions will abate. No, they will not. One awesome chorus gives way to another one, just as fine, and Alanis’s vocals never cease to radiate with confidence and optimism. For this happy-go-lucky approach a perfect musical format was selected, which is rock, or rather rock instruments delivering exact pop-styled themes. Even Woman Down, a song with lyrics implying seriousness, lacks roughness, although this is what the issue requires. Therefore, pointing out highlights in this album’s track list is not an easy thing to do because all the pieces are made along the same guidelines and serve to arouse the same feelings. Still, catchiest melodies make you remember the aforementioned single Guardian as well as great songs Celebrity, and Numb fastest. Some would say that the record suffers from the shortage pf variety and lyrical simplicity, and this could be true. Yet the majority of Alanis’s fans value her voice more than anything else in her music, and Havoc And Bright Light features her in perfect vocal form, which protects them from getting disappointed.

Album which is simply pleasant to listen to

As you come to grips with Havoc And Bright Lights, you might find yourself suddenly travelling twenty years back, into the time when Alanis Morissette was issuing her first works. Try Til You, or Empathy, and you will discover the past carefree, untroubled spirit of youth in the lyrics and vocals. In fact, the music, too, is written just to settle down in your memory at once. Of course, the present release is not a sign of a new tendency. The album could have appeared a whole lot different if all those great things had not happened in this period of Alanis Morissette’s life. Many believe that these are times if troubles during which musicians produce their most mature, consistent works, that bitter experiences bring depth and expression to their songs, make them seek new forms and ideas. That is why the new album can seem less impressive or interesting compared to its predecessor, Flavors Of Entanglement. Yet, those who could think so will find it hard to deny that this record is just easy and pleasant to listen to. And for many of us this the first thing they expect of music.