Pink - Beautiful Trauma

Pink
Beautiful Trauma
2017
Spotify

If you expected a typical Pink album from this new record Beautiful Trauma you would be exactly right. Slightly more edgy and "real" than the average pop star is the message that Pink has been on for years and that continues on this new record. She's a bit more refined and there are moments of brightness on the album but as a whole it feels to much like a rehash of former glory to really succeed in 2017. The title track produced by Bleachers' Jack Antonoff is interesting and vibrant but things get squirrely once you reach "Revenge" featuring Eminem. I don't know if you could imagine a collaboration that is more 2000 than Pink and Eminem but I am open to suggestions. Eminem for one tries to evoke his old woman hating self with pauses to call the subject of his song a "Whore", "Bitch" and "Slut" all in one verse. With all the controversy surrounding Eminem's recent anti-Trump cypher it's odd to see him trying to relive his former self and god are the rhymes awkward. "Whatever You Want" has a great beat and Pink's voice meshes with it perfectly but it is such well worn territory musically it's really difficult to care. She does feel more mature on this record making her conclusions and ideas feel more real and grounded, but often the music can be boring to the point of not caring. "But We Lost It" is so sappy and filled with this idea that she's so damaged that it's hard to listen to the whole thing.

It just feels so odd for Pink to sing about not trading in "the chains for pearls" but then sounds like the most adult contemporary she possibly could. "Barbies" while getting across a real sentiment is so overblown and dramatic. She is making valid points but mixed in is so much sap and a heavy dose of pandering. Pink seems to be genuine but these ideas are so basic and so one note. Meghan Trainor suffers from a similar issue where they just can;t help but make things about empowerment every single time. It's great to be rah rah, but not for an entire album, it feels way to one note. The brightest moments are the ones where she steps out of that comfort zone and tries something new, but they are few and far between. Beautiful Trauma is just a bunch of pretty nice songs, but songs that don't make the impact that perhaps Pink would have hoped. More than anything Beautiful Trauma just comes across like a bore from an artist who can still sing but doesn't quite have her finger on the pulse anymore.

5.0 out of 10