Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 10/11/2003
Label: Arista

Pink is without doubt one of the more interesting characters on Planet Pop. Feistier than Christina, more natural than Britney and operating in a completely parallel orbit to our homegrown breed of variety show fodder, she is a bona fide marketable rebel - albeit a clichéd Hollywood type of rebel. She smokes, she skates, she swears; she snogs girls, has dyed hair and tattoos. She is pure sugar bubblegum in a nose ring. A perfect pop star in other words.

As such, the most successful tracks on 'Try This' work within this whole cartoon outsider persona. She may have hit megasales with the Linda Perry-directed 'Missundaztood' but whenever Pink wanders into confessional territory the results here are strangely hollow. Recent comments of her believed spiritual connection with Janis Joplin certainly induced the sound of alarm bells and interestingly, the weakest numbers, epitomised by doubtful power ballad 'Catch Me While I'm Sleeping', are those with Perry's writing credit. Pink does US psychobabble 'poor me' victim shtick unconvincingly.

That's not to say the work of Tim Armstrong (he of timewarp US punk act Rancid, who co-wrote over 50% of the album) is up to much either. Presumably hired to bolster Pink's rock credentials, he remains in thrall to the sound of the UK suburbs circa 1979. There is something strangely British about the faux No Doubt ska of 'Tonight's The Night' and the terrace chants of "We-eeee don't wanna go home" on 'Humble Neighbourhoods'. These only fall slightly short from being punctuated by cockney shouts of, "Oi! Oi! Oi!"

The disposable pop-punk of 'Trouble' and Beck's 'Feel Good Time' are far more successful. 'God Is A DJ' is a credible call to dancefloor action and the kitty-lickin' collaboration with Peaches, 'Oh My God', would cause Britney and Madonna to wash out their ears with Femifresh. Perhaps best of all is hidden track 'Hooker' where Pink swears like a trooper in a litany of gravel-voiced put-downs that even Courtney Love would die for. More of this and 'Try This' would be a big brave album.

But ultimately there's something very 80s about Pink. Something very kitsch and plastic; something very 'Breakfast Club'. Given that an ex-Bros member is her manager, Linda Perry is her mentor and the CD sleeve contains shout outs to Sade, Annie Lenox and, most tellingly of all, Billy Idol, this is not surprising. No wonder Drew Barrymore put her in the sequel to 'Charlie's Angels'.

When she's on form and having fun it's invigorating like the basketball scene in 'Teen Wolf'. When she turns on the angst it's like a lost Molly Ringwald movie - unconvincing, hollow and forgettable.

    by Adam Webb