Alanis Morissette intertwines with Flavors of Entanglement
Ashley Inguanta
Issue date: 6/19/08 Section: Variety
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The specific emotion-gripping quality of this album comes from a mix of two things: the ending of Morissette's relationship with actor Ryan Reynolds (Waiting), with Reynolds' engagement with actress Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), and Morissette working with producer Guy Sigsworth.
In the past, Sigsworth has worked alongside Imogen Heap, forming the electronic duo Frou Frou, as well as Bjork, Madonna and Seal.
While Morissette's trademark intensity and confessional lyrics are present on Flavors, Sigsworth's influence as producer is apparent in its smooth electronic arrangements.
"I know it's time to start writing again when I start humming to myself in my house, and that's rare," Morissette said in an ET Online interview. "This record kind of chronicles the personal kind of unraveling, 'rock bottom' hitting, phoenix rising, ultimately, you always have to have a little drig of hope somewhere in there."
Among the 12 tracks on the album are a wide range of entanglement's "flavors," from heartbreak to hope, from dark to light.
Morissette opens the album strongly with "Citizen of the Planet," which establishes her as an adaptive world traveler, and intertwines herself with the territories she explores. Howling electric guitars blend with violins that sweep across drum beats, making music alongside Morissette's voice rather than acting as a backdrop to it.
The darkest song on this album is "Versions of Violence," a mix of haunting synth beats that rip alongside electric guitars. Morissette's voice is deep and strong as she sings about the marks that violence leaves, no matter how "subtle" or "clear" the violence is. With this song, Morissette recognizes all forms of abuse as serious and impactful, letting listeners know that everything they're going through holds important and does matter.
Unlike Flavor's other songs, "Not as We" is a soft ballad. As Morissette sings of starting over "not as we," but as herself, piano melodies pour like rain drops over her voice, creating a live, raw feel.
Morissette lets go with "Moratorium," freeing herself from all relationships with others, while holding on to the relationship with herself. "[This song] is the sweetest kind of… juncture for me," she said in an ET Online interview, "from going from this kind of broken moment to more of an empowered one, where I made this real commitment to myself, my not being emotionally ready to be married tangibly in the world, but really wanting to be married somewhere in here somehow [points to herself]."