Flavors Of Entanglement
by Alanis Morissette
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 82 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 82
  3. Negative: 5 out of 82

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  1. aarondu
    Nov 11, 2011
    2
    This album makes it quite clear: Alanis Morissette doesn't have a single good album left in her. Whatever happened to the down-to-earth, levelheaded woman who wrote so many earnest, tell-it-like-it-is pop songs in 1995? Maybe the pressure of fame whittled down her edge: as she graduated from young woman to full blown adult over the course of five or six albums, she has steadily inundatedThis album makes it quite clear: Alanis Morissette doesn't have a single good album left in her. Whatever happened to the down-to-earth, levelheaded woman who wrote so many earnest, tell-it-like-it-is pop songs in 1995? Maybe the pressure of fame whittled down her edge: as she graduated from young woman to full blown adult over the course of five or six albums, she has steadily inundated her music with an ever-increasing amount of self-conscious psychobabble. And each album has been worse than the one before. On Flavors of Entanglement, she's as confessional as she was fifteen years ago, but after two decades of reading self-help books, her confessions are somewhat embarrassing and unpleasant to hear. Morissette frequently uses jargon that's usually reserved for a psychologist's couch, heightening the sense that we are in the unpleasant head of a too-self-conscious neurotic. Witness the laundry list of therapy terms in Versions of Violence: "Diagnosing, analyzing, Unsolicited advice, Explaining and controlling, judging opining and meddling"; the awkward phrasing of Moratorium: "I declare a moratorium on things relationship, i declare a respite from the toils of liason." And don't get me started on the sophomoric rambling of "Giggling Again for No Reason", which has lyrics and a title that would be embarrassing for a 14 year old girl to write, let alone a full grown woman. So the final result is an awkward mess of unmelodic, unsurprising and somewhat affected lyrics from the mind of someone who has become less than interesting. Not a jagged little pill...a big, bland, dry one.… Collapse
  2. TomH.
    Jun 28, 2008
    3
    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.

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Most Discussed Album of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. AllMusic
    70
    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.
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  2. Billboard
    80
    Morissette's superb lyrics leave you cheering for her--and assured that she's going to be just fine.
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  3. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    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.
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