4/5
Thousands of panicked parents will surely be rushing to switch off stereos the moment their children hit ‘play’ on this album, with rude words and graphic acts drawled in the raspy, seductive way that Pink has been honing since she first emerged at the turn of the 21st century. The 33-year-old Philly girl has never been one to walk on the polite side of pop, as her 2006 single ‘Stupid Girls’ made clear: ‘I’m so glad that I’ll never fit in,’ she sang then. But such assertiveness doesn’t mean there’s no soft side to her; she just knows how to balance it, as The Truth About Love demonstrates perfectly.
From the explosive chants of opener ‘Are We All We Are’ to the tenderness of acoustic ballad ‘The Great Escape’ – a song that shows off Pink’s impressive vocal range – the record slips between boisterous beats and subtle strings. It’s not a leap away from her previous five albums, but with plenty of those all-important pop hooks and a fresh batch of lyrics, Pink has once again managed to breathe new life into her tried-and-tested formula.
