Flavors of Entanglement

iTunes Review

The albums from the woman who became a superstar with “You Oughta Know” have become intense confessionals where it’s more like a matter of you have to know. Morissette’s psyche twists and turns like her murderous grammar, making for uncomfortably personal yet riveting listening. “Straitjacket” works as a dressing down of an inattentive lover (“Talking with you’s like talking to a sieve that can’t hear me”) except Morissette’s the one who ends up losing her grip. Producer and co-writer Guy Sigsworth, noted for his work with Bjork, window dresses these tunes with extra beats, strings (“Torch”), tabla (“Citizens of the World”), and vocal manipulations, transforming Morissette’s delivery into a transmission from outer space. This otherworldly charm sweetens “Giggling Again for No Reason,” one of the album’s pure expressions of momentary joy. Elsewhere, it’s a frightening amount of stress for one woman, from “Moratorium,” where she declares, “I declare a moratorium on things relationship,” to “Tapes,” which recounts the unsteady voices in her head. The album plays as much as a therapy session as a piece of music. Intriguing to say the least.