Celebrity Skin
DGC
6 out of 11

The answer to the question you're all asking - does Celebrity Skin suffer from Kurt Cobain's absence? - is no, it does not. But another question does present itself: Is the relative strength of this followup to Live Through This a validation of Courtney Love's songwriting talents or has Cobain merely been usurped by Billy Corgan? The lead Pumpkin is credited as co-writer on five of Celebrity Skin's 12 tracks but his influence on the project has been a matter of debate for months, with Corgan himself admitting to/bragging about being the record's Svengali. Ah, well, let's get on with the music. Celebrity Skin sees Hole (mostly) abandon the grunge template typified by Love's husband in favour of self-conscious lyrics and big pop hoos tempered with punk attitude. The tracks that work best are the ones where Love isn't trying so hard to be taken seriously: 'Celebrity Skin,' the first single, is all cool guitars and cooler lyrics ('Oh make me over/I'm all I want to be/A walking study/In demonology'); 'Awful' is pure pop, Blondie in 1998; 'Playing Your Song' is minor-key dissonance, the wrathful Courtney of old. Where the record stumbles is when Love et al. get serious: 'Northern Star' is a big ballad that comes off as overwrought; 'Malibu' recasts Love as Stevie Nicks, an AOR-goddess (albeit with a wink). Except four or five singles from this record; don't expect Courtney to own up to Corgan's influence.

- Sean Plummer, Access Magazine