‘TRUSTFALL’ Album Review: P!NK’s Realization That You Can’t Go It Alone

It has been several years since we’ve had a punky ‘screw you’ hit from P!NK, but her new album, “TRUSTFALL,” arrived when we thought we had seen the last of the 2000s rock-pop sweetheart. The rock musician had been relatively off the radar until she released the single “Irrelevant” in response to the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. This news spurred P!NK out of her hiatus with this subsequent 13-song album hot on the heels of “Irrelevant.” “TRUSTFALL” is reminiscent of the punk-rock pop of P!NK’s previous albums, offering an inspiring message to get the listener through the hard times in life.

The album’s songs fluctuate between slow emotional ballads and upbeat dance floor hits — an intentional choice on P!NK’s part. She said in an interview with Billboard that the songs are ordered to reflect the ups and downs of life. “When I Get There,” P!NK’s first song on the album, is a cathartic conversation with a loved one she has recently lost. Only piano instrumentals accompany her raspy vocals as she pleads to see this person again. Although she begins the album in a rather sorrowful tone, she quickly shifts to an upbeat tone with the titular song “TRUSTFALL.” She ditches the acoustics for electronic backups and basks in the idea of feeling safe and supported by someone new. The song is about putting one’s faith in someone else; it most definitely is a departure from the messages of P!NK’s feisty old hits like “So What” and “Blow Me (One Last Kiss).”

As the album progresses, the theme of trusting someone to be there for you during hard times is further developed. In fact, this message feels belabored halfway through the album. It is obvious that P!NK has found the trust she has been searching for in her personal life, but she seems a little too reliant on the default pop song. The messages lack nuance, and, despite guest features like The Lumineers and First Aid Kit on tracks “Long Way to Go” and “Kids in Love” respectively, offering contributions from different music genres, the trajectory of each song is the same. The choruses are repetitive and the rhymes are predictable, especially in the most popular song off the album, “Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” which boasts over 45 million streams on Spotify.

P!NK gets personal towards the end of the album. She has been open about her rocky relationship with her husband Carey Hart, and it is evident through her lyrics in the consecutive songs “Hate Me” and “Lost Cause.” The two songs are contradictory in that “Hate Me” bitterly allows the listener to villainize P!NK, but “Lost Cause” begs the listener to not give up on P!NK’s ability to love. She sings, “Say you’re sick of my guts / but don't tell me I’m a lost cause.”

“TRUSTFALL” wrestles with feelings of forgiveness, anger, and companionship. Its reinforcing messages of not being alone through the difficulties of life are well-suited to the introspective listener. While dance breaks filter throughout the album to release some tension from the heavier topics, there are also moments for contemplative listening. Similar to how many music lovers could not go through life without having songs to connect to, P!NK understands that life is nearly impossible without having trust in the people around you.