SHE might have flirted with plastic pop in her youth but the songs that Alanis Morissette sings now are covered in pure nude wool, a warm, secure coat which still lets you see through to the frightened soul inside.
At the SFX last night the 21 year old Canadian swept aside all doubts about her authenticity, proving her point, with the firm assertion of All I Really Want. She's for real, all right and, as she states her case in song, she stalks the stage with the confidence of someone who knows she has the floor.
Morissette's mannered vocals, part Carole King, part Dolores O'Riordan and part Grace Slick, are tempered by the sledgehammer delivery of the band. Guitarists Nick Lashley and Jesse Tobias deliver some direct riffs around which Morissette wraps her scales and arpeggios.
Tobias once played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so he was well able to turn up the heat, and Right Through You cut to the quick with razor sharp observation "Took me for a joke, took me for a child". Not after that kick ass performance, Alanis.
It was not all Joni Mitchell meets grunge, however for every sustained bout of soul pummelling anguish, there was a calming interlude of acoustic guitars and gliding vocals, Morissette showing that righteous anger and revenge are just the negative emotions which balance the hope and trust.
Mary Jane and Head Over Feet turn the tables on adversity, offering a strong hand to a weak resolve. Ironic simply laughs, as though all the ups and downs of life were nothing more than the wobbly handwriting of fate.
When Morissette's crew sneak onstage dressed in nothing but towels, it's like they're moaning at the irony of it all.
Ask those Americans.
Forgiven explains much of Morissette's ambiguous thinking, being a part autobiographical account of growing up in Catholic school, and it gives a clue as to why Irish audiences can relate to her sense of sexual and emotional dilemma.
Well at least I do anyway oops, wish I hadn't said that. Perfect and Not The Doctors' tackle the symptoms of self hate and self indulgence, while You Oughta Know simply attacks the hateful Hand In My Pocket and You Learn deliver a comforting dose of familiarity and friendship.
Alan is Morissette may be a soul salving diva for Generation X, but she's smart enough to know that her jagged little pill can't save the world.
The answer, it seems, is not blowing in the wind, and as she stands alone for the final a capella refrain, it seems that all Alanis wants to do is weather the storm.
