Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 Reviewer: Andrew Mitchell |
There’s a subtle irony in Courtney Love coining her first album in 12 years under the Hole moniker as her mid-life crisis release. Seriously, who would have thought she’d live this long? Cast during her last rehab stint and completed while being denounced for unfit parenting, Nobody’s Daughter soaks in emotional baggage and self inquisition. And yet, it’s Love as unapologetic as ever.
Is it fair to critique a voice that never really existed in the first place? The scream that cut like broken glass with ease on Hole’s Live Through This is gone now and has been replaced by a gravelly yelp that sits somewhere between a best effort Stevie Nicks impersonation and the craggy growl of a latter day Marianne Faithful. When Love struggles for a prolonged scream on ‘Loser Dust,’ you can’t help but sense that an uncontrollable coughing fit was serendipitously edited out of the mix. But when she delves into the tribulations that mar her middle aged existence, the cragginess tends to add a layer of poignancy. When beckoning god to explain her purpose, if she must continue living, on ‘Letter To God,’ the sound of a worn middle aged woman juxtaposed against such a childlike plea comes off as quietly heartbreaking. It plays even more greatly on ‘For Once In Your Life,’ as she analyzes her tattered self matter-of-factly in an earnest attempt to keep a relationship going.
And there are sentimental references to the ’90s grunge that she rose from. Love comes off sincerely rather than opportunistically on ‘ Pacific Coast Highway,’ a likely veiled message to her deceased rock icon husband: “Your whole world is in my hands. I’m on the Pacific Coast Highway with your gun in my hands and you know I’m drowning.’ She boldly claims to reiterate that her association with the rock god has been more a double edged sword than an unending stream of benefits. But it’s the Cobain-esque ‘Samantha’ that provides the greatest salute to the bygone era.
Considering that the only original Hole member involved with the release is Love herself, Nobody’s Daughter is in truth another solo effort. But after her poorly received and incoherent 2004 solo debut, America’s Sweetheart, can you really blame Love for wanting to grab some of that past Hole luster? Love has always been more interesting when she has something tragically personal to scream about and with some fresh fodder here, Nobody’s Daughter once again provides more than enough pain for us to revel in.
