Funhouse (2008)

''Guess I just lost my husband/I don’t know where he went,'' Pink declares at the outset of her fifth album, Funhouse. Those lines — from No. 1 single ''So What'' — tell you right off that, yup, this is her Divorce Album. But the lyrics' singsongy cadence implies it's okay if you don’t get too broken up over her breakup. ''So What'' is a great anthem of bluffing and bravado, tailor-made for lovelorn rebounders as the soundtrack for the moment when they're kidding themselves that a night on the town is the best revenge.

Surprisingly, though, that lyrical swagger is largely missing from the rest of Funhouse, as Pink goes vulnerable and publicly licks her post-split wounds. By the second number (''Sober''), she's questioning her need to be numbed by booze and noise, wailing, ''Why do I feel this party's over?'' And most of the other songs dwell in the accusatory or self-flagellating places that titles like ''Please Don't Leave Me,'' ''It's All Your Fault,'' and ''Mean'' suggest. Let's get this party finished, indeed!

But did we mention the album's a lot of fun? The sadder Pink gets, the better the big, rocky roar that characterizes much of the disc sounds. A few Billy Mann-produced ballads suggest she could've had an old-school singer-songwriter career. But Pink's true gift is as a musical androgynist — blurring the line between rocker and pop star, or between mourner and celebrant, as encouraged most of all by Max Martin (the ex-Britney Svengali behind Pink hits like ''U + Ur Hand''), who's responsible for four of the most confectionary tracks here. Husbands may come and go, but Martin she should hold on to forever. B+
Download This: Watch a live performance of ''Sober'' on MusicLoversGroup.com

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