On her latest album, P!NK reassures fans that she’s held onto her artistic identity in the overwhelming struggle for relevance.
In the past few years, the music industry has become increasingly dominated by younger artists. Veteran artists have either struggled to find a new sound or stay true to their own. P!NK has always been known for maintaining her own identity.
“TRUSTFALL” is a cathartic release of feelings toward her father’s death. Songs like “Feel Something” and “When I Get There” directly express that grief, almost like they were torn out of her diary.
The opening track “When I Get There” sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s sentimental and nostalgic as PINK! asks her father seemingly mundane questions like, “Is there a song you can’t wait to share?” or things a little more serious like, “Do you wish I’d slow down?”
Songs like these, with their beautiful, introspective quality, are when the album is the most successful.
On the other hand, some of the album’s electric tracks contrast these more melancholic tunes, cutting the overall mood.
The title track “TRUSTFALL” fits into this category. It’s an upbeat dance pop song you’d typically hear in a club scene from a movie, a prime example of the album’s downfalls.
The biggest issue is that P!NK can sometimes feel like a regurgitation of her older stuff and become stale in the eyes of the greater public. Her music hasn’t changed in the over 20 years that she’s been on the music scene.
Even worse, she sometimes sounds like a mom trying to be cool and cling to her youth, an endeavor that succeeds half of the time.
Take “Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” which feels like a track that some big executives made because they wanted a song that teens could relate to..
If I’m going to listen to disco pop, I’ll choose either Dua Lipa or Miley Cyrus, two artists who do 80s nostalgia better than anyone else.
An interesting track is rock ballad “Hate Me.” She does this genre well and it calls back to her pre-album release “Irrelevant,” a song that I loved. P!NK is able to pull off what I call princess punk very well without sounding immature.
She has a couple of features on this album, with some more successful than others. The “Kids in Love” feature by First Aid Kit gives P!NK room to breathe, while The Lumineers’ feature on “Long Way to Go” feels unnecessary.
The album is generally a pretty good showing, but loses momentum and purpose occasionally. A couple tracks drag down an album that could be more personal and emotional. While it’s worth a listen, I won’t listen to this album again. It’ll probably get lost among the shuffle of better albums.
Rating: 3.75/5