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Flavors Of Entanglement
by Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 63 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.9 out of 10
based on 18 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 45 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The Canadian singer releases her latest album, produced by Guy Sigsworth.

LABEL: Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: 10 June 2008
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Rock, Singer-Songwriter

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83
Entertainment Weekly
Somehow, a devastating personal experience has galvanized her songwriting in a way that domestic bliss, as showcased on 2004's disappointing "So-Called Chaos," could not.
Read Full Review
80
Billboard
Morissette's superb lyrics leave you cheering for her--and assured that she's going to be just fine.
Read Full Review
70
All Music Guide
It's a lot like "Jagged Little Pill," but musically this is far closer to the muddled mystic worldbeat of "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie," thanks in large part to her collaboration with Guy Sigsworth, best known for his productions with Björk and Madonna.
Read Full Review
70
Rolling Stone
Scarjo may have her man, but Morissette has something Johansson doesn't: a heartfelt record.
Read Full Review
70
Boston Globe
It's a cluttered affair with bleeping, buzzing lows (harshly ambient tracks like "Straightjacket" and "Versions of Violence") and a handful of humble high points in a pair of lovely piano ballads.
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60
NOW Magazine
While Morissette’s weaknesses are the same--her lyrics are still overwrought, as though torn from some broken-hearted schoolgirl’s diary-–this disc is an easier pill to swallow than her last couple.
Read Full Review
60
PopMatters
Flavors of Entanglement is better than expected, but not as strong as we hoped it would be.
Read Full Review
60
Hot Press
Canadian firebrand loses her spark.
Read Full Review
60
Mojo
The Ottawan's new record abounds with moments most arresting for the crazy chutzpah with which she'll shoehorn a line of verse into a line of music whose rhythm puts the stresses on all the wrong words. [July 2008, p.104]
60
Q Magazine
Morissette is rarely dull, but she can occasionally be wearying. [July 2008, p.107]
60
The Guardian
As ever, she provokes both compassion and impatience.
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60
Blender
Producer Guy Sigsworth (Seal, Björk, Madonna) adds a touch of Eurodisco to her infatuation-junkie rambles.
Read Full Review
60
musicOMH.com
If Alanis lacks breadth in terms of her subject matter, and she does, she makes up for it in the rich variety of styles that have influenced each track.
Read Full Review
50
Slant Magazine
"Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" was emotionally complex but never without a nerve; the new Alanis, it seems, has many things to say, but they're all half-formed and stuck inside her head.
Read Full Review
50
Hartford Courant
She has fresh relationship issues to work through on Flavors of Entanglement, her first set of new tunes since 2004, but she has difficulty striking a balance between soul-searching and dance grooves on a set that doesn't distinguish itself with either.
Read Full Review
50
Paste Magazine
On some tracks, Morissette’s voice channels Björk (with whom Sigsworth has also worked), but the mood ultimately switches to watered-down Evanescence.
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50
Spin
Psychology textbooks are less linguistically challenged and just as littered with cases of emotional breakdowns. [June 2008, p.114]
Read Full Review
40
Uncut
It's the no-frills productions like 'Not As We' which stand out, although these are marred by the lyrics--a mess of self-help-manual platitudes and environmentally minded bollocks. [July 2008, p.104]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 45 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

OsAzE R. gave it a10:
I often wonder what these critics do. Do they sit there waiting on an artists new material with a long list of prefabricated "critiques" that, to me at least, just seems a little bit preposterous? At times I have to ask myself, do these people even listen to the music, or do they have the same damn songs in their heads playing over and over and over? This album is first of all intelligent, and most definitely a bold creative work that tops anything I have heard since "In Rainbows." Every song has lyrics that make you think, emotions that make you feel, music that makes your head bounce and your ears stand at attention. I just can't understand why people fear a little originality. Shut Up! Pop "Flavors of Entanglement" in your CD player, and fucking LISTEN!! Maybe you will learn something!

Robbie C gave it a7:
OMG. She's breathing! There might even be a heart beating in there! Heartbreak is so good for art. I swear. Her best record since Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, this is truly a different sound for her... and somehow, she pulls it off!

Jennifer A. gave it a9:
Fantastic! I'm glad and appreciative that she gave the reigns over to someone else to work his magic. Her best since "jagged"!

Rushell T. gave it a9:
After all the hype surrounding the new release of Flavors, I was ecstatic to get my copy of the cd. A true Alanis fan, I was not let down. She still has it, and then some. Like many others, I was expecting the rage and angst/sadness from her recent breakup, but was surprised (in a pleasant way) that that was not the case. That being said, it's a superb album with tracks that will have you close to tear with the lyrics and bouncing in your seat, head nodding along, thumb tapping on the steering wheel. I think my fav. track was Torch, followed closely by Citizen of the Planet and Straightjacket.

Linda G. gave it a10:
Alanis had done it again with a personal and raw album. I don't think there are any songs on this album that I do not like.

Kyle D gave it a10:
This is her best album in years!!!

Tom H. gave it a3:
From critical acclaim back to early 90's mainstream pop, this is really a disappointing album from every angle. If the lyrics twist about without reconciling, the music is borderline Euro-trash dancepop and the only worthy songs with content are the two slow tracks along with lead single, Underneath. A bare, 'orangic,' form of this album might help.

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