Laid back, and playing to her strengths, P!nk’s eighth studio album ‘Hurts 2B Human’ is familiar in its musical stylings – a collection of anthemic pop tracks threaded through with her bold vocals.
Starting off with ‘Hustle’, there’s an attempt to experiment with new, more youthful sounds, and while the country-tinged catchy instrumentals impress, the lyrics fall flat, as “Don’t hustle me” is repeated over and over. The lack of impactful lyricism continues in the following track, ‘(Hey Why) Miss You Sometime’, making the beginning of the chart-topping artist’s album a fairly weak one.
But the slow sonics of ‘Walk Me Home’ brings direction to the straying production. Despite its weak openers, the 13-track album then goes from strength to strength.
‘My Attic’ – the first stand-out of the album – is a guitar-led piece that makes brilliant use of P!nk’s raspy vocals, made even better with its poetic lyrics. Another strong track follows in ‘90 Days (feat Wrabel)’, as it tells the relatable tale of falling for someone who doesn’t love you back.
Other highlights come in the form of emotional ‘Circle Game’, a very personal offering that explores P!nk’s role as a mother – of her growing up to become the parental figure she once looked up to.
The strength of her song-writing makes the biggest impact in ‘My Attic’, ‘90 Days (feat Wrabel)’ and ‘Circle Game’, as pictures of love and loss are painted and memorable stories are told.
Title track, ‘Hurts 2B Human (feat Khalid)’, is a forgettable listen as it once again treads the ground of auto-tuned instrumentals and lack-lustre vocals, but ‘Can We Pretend’ makes up for the disappointment with its up-beat EDM sonics.
Slow-build acoustic tracks ‘Courage’ and ‘Happy’, are both soulful offerings that blend together and leave behind a sense of calm, which leads well into closing track ‘The Last Song of Your Life’. A melancholic production that sees P!nk’s vocals soar into ethereal ranges – it makes for the perfect end to a journey that swerved in many directions.
As a whole ‘Hurts 2B Human’ is not perfect. It is full of emotion and passion in certain parts, and yet devoid of it in others. While it is a mixed bag – with tracks that sometimes beg to be replayed, and sometimes to be skipped – it is still a sign of P!nk’s immense talent for music.
7/10
Words: Malvika Padin
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