Wistful and sentimental, it seems the 'Just Like A Pill' singer has done a lot of brooding over her five year hiatus.
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Our favourite, brutally honest, platinum blonde punk popstar is back with some more powerful, soul- moving songs. It has been a long five years since her last record, The Truth About Love, but P!nk has finally delivered her new album, and it does not disappoint. Beautiful Trauma is as poetic as the album title suggests, yet still holds the passion and momentum the songstress’ music is known for.
With the release of the album’s first single, ‘What About Us’, in early August, P!nk gave us a hint of what we could expect in Beautiful Trauma when it was set to be released two months later. It’s a single with duality; both a dancefloor hit yet a tenderly written piece, feeling quite politically charged, alongside its profound music video directed by Georgia Hudson. Although more subtle than 2006’s ‘Dear Mr President’, it’s not hard to believe that P!nk is using her platform once more to comment on the current political and social climate.
In early August, the singer also gave a speech at MTV awards, after being given the Video Vanguard Award. She addresses the self-image issues of her daughter and dropped a wonderful and celebratory speech on self-love, acceptance and truth. This emotion and reflection continue to be prevalent in Beautiful Trauma. The album is heavy with acoustic ballads and piano lead pieces with sobering vocals, seen in tracks ‘You Get My Love’ and ‘Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken’. Confessional and eloquent, P!nk creates dynamic music that you can’t help be swept up in and feel to the core. It’s definitely the kind of stuff you can listen to on a rainy day and pretend you’re in a music video (like we all do).
If you’re a lover of the brash and upbeat numbers like 2008’s ‘So What’, do not be quick to underestimate this album. Admittedly, there is not a huge amount of rebellious material to rock out to, but P!nk has made sure to include a little bit of attitude. Her collaboration in ‘Revenge’ with rapper of the moment Eminem and the bitter, passive-aggressive ‘Better Life’ will make sure you’re not missing out too much on her spunky charisma.
Although Beautiful Trauma does not hold the same substance as previous records – haunted by many sombre and melodic tracks and perhaps not enough boisterous and adventurous sounds – it still conveys the most important elements that P!nk has always carried in her career: Real-talking music and authenticity.
Beautiful Trauma is out now via RCA Records
