Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie

With all the blistering honesty we'd expect—and a calm gratitude we didn't—Alanis' follow up to <i>Jagged Little Pill</i> proves lightning can strike twice, but not quite the way we imagined. With Arabic-inspired melodies, dark electronic grooves, fuzzy guitars and sparkling keyboards, Morissette delivers warmhearted songs like "Thank U" and "So Pure" with gentle serenity. Though it feels like the calm after the storm, the tension roiling underneath the seemingly languid confessional "Unsent" suggests this album might be the eye of a hurricane.