Hole

With Courtney Love being the only survivor of the original Hole line-up, there was certainly going to be some form of shift in style. 'Nobody's Daughter' is probably Hole's most commercial and 'poppy' album to date, although it certainly isn't a P!nk album.

It is a mixed bag, with tracks like 'Skinny Little Bitch' and 'Samantha' coming across quite bland formulaic tracks, with weak repetitive chorus.

However tracks like the opener title tracker, 'Honey' and 'How Dirty Girls Get Clean' (great title) retaining some edge, but still appealing to quite a wide market. The addition of Linda Perry (Gwen Stefani, P!nk, Celine Dion) shows the song-writing to also be more commercially aimed - again not a bad thing, but just a change of direction.

Larrikin Love guitarist Micko Larkin adds some weight to the tracks as well, and his influence is felt through much of the album, but especially on "Pacific Coast Highway" which is surely a future single with driving riffs and raucous chorus.

Although it seems to have been slated by many critics, the album's 'ballad' 'Letter to God' works well for me and shows there is an alternate side to Hole's sound.

This whole album is a departure from early Hole material, and is definitely centred around Courtney Love, with the rest of the band very definitely background support. This isn't necessarily a criticism but more advice to those expecting pure-Hole. Courtney love does have talent, both love and on tracks, but it is not consistent. Buy this and pick your favourite 5 or 6 tracks wisely.