TRACK BY TRACK: Alanis Morissette's 'Such Pretty Forks In The Road'

Alanis Morissette FINALLY dropped her new album Such Pretty Forks in the Road on July 31, and let me say, it is everything we could have hoped for and more! I’ve been a fan of Alanis for as long as I can remember, from listening to “Ironic” and “Hand in My Pocket”, getting my first CD of hers and blasting “8 Easy Steps”, to her recent feature on Halsey’s “Alanis’ Interlude”.

This album has been on my radar for some time, having been postponed from its original May 1 release date due to COVID-19. Such Pretty Forks in the Road is similar to her older works with the same edgy, bitter, and sometimes sad lyrics, but this time, she gave it a much softer twist. This album is sad and powerful, haunting and beautiful all at once.

Here is a track by track breakdown!

1. "Smiling"

Alanis starts off her album strong with “Smiling”. Even though the chorus talks about “surrendering”, she doesn’t take it as a loss but instead as a reason to keep going. She lets people know that it is okay to give in; it’s not the end. There’s always a chance to keep smiling through it and move forward.

The song is soft and sweet; she lets go of the anger and bitterness she encompassed in the past, even opting for a softer instrumental to go with the calming lyrics. Towards the end of the song, she ramps up the energy, touching on the edgier sound from her earlier works.

Favorite Lyrics: "And I keep on smiling / Keep on moving / Can’t stand still..."

2. "Ablaze"

“Ablaze” is one of the cutest songs off of the album! It invokes the same sort of feelings as Taylor Swift’s “Never Grow Up” but from the sole point of view of the parent. Alanis sings about the world and her children and how she hopes “to keep the light in their eyes ablaze.”

Alanis holds so much love for her family, which is apparent in the video. She possesses the kind of love most people dream of, and she has such a positive outlook on the world and finds the silver lining despite the negativity she sings about.

This video is my favorite of hers. It’s made up of mostly home videos with a few clips of her singing. Seeing her with her family and how happy she is is such a beautiful sight. This is one of the videos you can watch over and over again and when you need a reason to smile.

Favorite Lyrics: "It might feel dark, it might feel lonely and you'll wonder why you're here / You'll be overcome with darkness and a sense of hopelessness / But it won't matter if you keep the core connected to the oneness..."

3. "Reasons I Drink"

“Reasons I Drink” has one of my favorite intros of the album! As soon as the first note hits, the beat makes you want to dance, despite the dark lyrics. The song is about struggling with addictions, and not necessarily just alcohol -- as Alanis has said about the song, her three biggest addictions are work, love, and food. For the brutally honest and slightly depressing lyrics, the upbeat energy makes this song stand out on the album.

The music video for this song features Alanis as 4 different people in what appears to be an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, facing her various addictions (and at one point looking ever so much like one her alter egos from the "Ironic" video). This video and song are very humanizing; they show the person behind the addiction, reminding you that they are more than just what you may see on the surface.

Favorite Lyrics: "Nothing can give reprieve like they do / Nothing can give me a break from this torture like they do..."

4. "Diagnosis"

“Diagnosis” is one of the simplest songs on the album yet filled with so much emotion that it’s hard not to cry when listening to it. The piano in this song is so soft and beautiful, as is her voice. Yet, despite the softness in her voice, the lyrics sing of her pain and learning to shut out the voices around her.

Alanis has said that this song is about her postpartum depression and struggling with her fame and the attention, both positive and negative. In this song, she is letting go of caring what others think of her and focusing on herself and her “diagnosis”. By letting go of the negativity surrounding her “diagnosis”, she is able to keep moving forward.

Favorite Lyrics: "And I no longer give a damn / 'Bout things that used to matter / And I am covering my eyes / As I am frozen on the spot..."

5. "Missing the Miracle"

The piano in the beginning of this song is very heartwarming; happy and strong but soft. When she starts singing, the vibrato in her voice on the longer notes is super subtle yet mesmerizing. 

This is another song of hers where she is able to “see the lining”, as she says, even when things look gloomy. One of the most fascinating and inspiring aspects of this song is the way she sings about being able to step away and see that things aren’t all black and white. One person may see a cloud, another may see the lining, but what both are missing and should strive to see is the sunlight (“the miracle”).

This is one of the only songs on the album about her marriage, but it’s a song everyone should listen to and think about — how taking a step back and looking at the whole picture and finding the middle ground can be the solution.

Favorite Lyrics: "And the light is all around us, but when we spar, it's dim / We're right here in the middle, missing the miracle..."

6. "Losing the Plot"

"Losing the Plot" is the perfect action movie soundtrack song. Listening to this song, I can visualize the scene at the end of the second act of the movie, where the superhero decides she has had enough and decides to take a step back... but everyone knows she won’t be giving up for good.

This song is about Alanis letting go of trying to be the “superwoman” all of the time. Instead of looking at the silver lining as she has in previous songs, Alanis chooses to focus on the negative and give in to the darkness surrounding her instead of trying to fix it.

Favorite Lyrics: "As though I haven't risen like a phoenix from a thousand deaths / As though I have not been reborn to notice that my mission is not dead yet..."

7. "Reckoning"

“Reckoning” is another darker song on the album but with an uplifting twist towards the end. This song is all about the loss of innocence and being “preyed” upon. It’s about evil people getting away with the terrible things they do. However, by the end of the song, the tables turn and the truth comes out.

At first, this song seems like the typical Hollywood story -- the exploitation of talent in young people searching for fame. After listening to the song in its entirety and hearing what Alanis had to say, however, we see that the song is about being sexually abused and the scars that that abuse has left on her.

This song expresses a difficult subject in a gentle, sensitive way that makes it beautiful despite the topic. “Reckoning” empathizes with victims of abuse without being triggering or belittling it. It also calls out our society’s pattern of denying victim’s stories — all experiences that Alanis herself has been through.

Favorite Lyrics: "And so brace, brace yourself / For this reckoning day / I was once at a loss / Now I stand at the gate..."

8. "Sandbox Love"

“Sandbox Love” stands out from the rest of the album in a multitude of ways. First and foremost, from the very first note the song, it is more upbeat, faster, energetic, and playful, whereas the rest of the album was softer and slower.

“Sandbox Love” is all about finding a love that is pure and safe and beautiful. It is learning to trust after being hurt and realizing that not everyone is out to hurt you. In this song, Alanis faces her fear and trauma head-on but with someone she loves, with someone she can trust. She acknowledges the PTSD that can follow a traumatic experience in the second verse (“Take me back to square one and clear this flashing back / Please tread lightly 'cause I'm an open affront”) while also acknowledging that it is possible to keep moving forward.

This song is the complete opposite of “Reckoning” in all of the best ways. The sound contradicts the previous song while also showing her progress from where she was when she was dealing with the trauma and pain from the previous song.

Favorite Lyrics: "Thanks for showing up / Thanks for proving them all wrong / 'Cause you are my love / And you are not them..."

9. "Her"

“Her” is all about femininity; respecting the women in her life, loving the women in her life, looking up to the women in her life, and praying to the women in her life. Alanis acknowledges the patriarchal world that we live in in the most subtle way possible, even in the line “and so I pray to Her today.” (Remember when Alanis played God in the Kevin Smith movie Dogma?)

One of the most interesting components of this song is the references to religion throughout. She talks about praying, she mentions Mary and angels, and she refers to Kali, the Hindu goddess.

This is one of my favorite songs on the album for many reasons. Not only is this song all about looking up to women, it also presents religion in a subtle way that does not come off as forced or overbearing. I am obsessed with the orchestral parts throughout and the angelic background vocals during the chorus. These small additions make such a beautiful impact on the song.

Favorite Lyrics: "And even though she knows me well / It doesn't mean it's easy to pull me out of my self-imposed hell..."

10. "Nemesis"

“Nemesis” is the song that really stuck with me the first time I listened. Maybe it’s the fast pace and high energy, or maybe it’s the intense, honest lyrics. Either way, this is one of the strongest songs on the album.

The fast pace and more aggressive instrumentals in this song match the theme of the song — the fear and excitement that comes with change. The beat perfectly mimics the anxiety that comes with sudden change.

I love the way this song quickly transitions from change in the general sense to the change that comes from becoming a parent. Alanis continues the theme of being a mother, openly discussing how it has affected her throughout the album, both the positives and negatives. 

I like to think this song is also directed a bit at those who have criticized her for changing her sound and exploring one that she had “previously rebelled against”.

Favorite Lyrics: "This about-face, I'm excited, I'm excited yet / I'm filled with despair, anticipation and dread..."

11. "Pedestal"

“Pedestal” is another song where the instrumentals and especially the orchestral components really stood out to me. Even though this song is all about coming down from the “pedestal” she is held up on, the instrumentals are very uplifting and positive. Alanis clearly doesn’t see stepping down from this view of perfection that she is held at as a negative thing.

Another part of this song that really stood out to me are the references to glitter. This song seems to be the inspiration for the album artwork, which shows her covered in glitter. The lyrics “when the glitter falls / I’m here and sometimes average, sometimes more” show the way people don’t always look beneath the surface. On the surface, Alanis is glittering and perfect, almost like a trophy on that pedestal. But underneath all of that is a person, someone who hurts and feels and messes up just like everyone else. 

This is another song that I feel takes a hit at those who have tried to criticize her for the change in her music — while it may seem that she has chosen to follow a mainstream path, when you really listen, you can hear Alanis’s old voice and her own personality in each and every song. Each song tells a story, a message, and gives us a glimpse into Alanis's personal life.

Favorite Lyrics: "Oh, when the glitter falls / I'm here and sometimes average, sometimes more..."

Such Pretty Forks In The Road is definitely my favorite album of the year (and there has been a LOT of great music released this year!). This album clearly has so much thought and personality put into it. The raw emotion, honesty, and juxtaposition combine to make it a masterpiece.