New Alanis Album In February; New Song Online Now

NEW YORK (Top 40 Charts) - Alanis Morissette is tidying up her next album, tentatively titled Under Rug Swept, for release in February, and she's giving fans a little taste of her new material online.

As previewed on a recent tour, Morissette's new songs hark back to the provocative pop-rock of 1995's Jagged Little Pill and steer away from the moody, Eastern-influenced sound of 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (see). Lyrically, she takes a more reflective, mature stance without abandoning the raw, confessional sentiments that endeared her to fans in the mid-'90s.

The Canadian singer/songwriter wrote and produced the new disc without the help of Glen Ballard, who helped guide her breakthrough, Pill, and its follow-up. Although the new album was held up due to a contractual dispute between Morissette and her label, Maverick Records, a spokesperson said the conflict has been resolved.

On Monday, Morissette began offering a song titled "Utopia" via Maverick's site. The tender ballad, which is expected to appear on the new LP, features the lyrics "We'd open our arms, we'd all jump in/ We'd all coast down into safety nets/ We would share and listen and support and welcome/ Be propelled by passion not invest in outcomes."

She said in a statement that the recent terrorist attacks spurred her to share "Utopia" "in the spirit of wanting to offer comfort to everyone who is grieving." She said the song "sheds light on the willingness to understand" and "the passionate desire to stand up and show a self-care and self-respect."

Morissette wrote 26 songs for the album, and on her personal site she provides lyrics to some of the tunes as well as a tentative track listing:

• Fear of Bliss
• 21 Things I Want in a Lover
• Narcissus
• A Man
• That Particular Time
• So Unsexy
• Sister Blister
• Bent 4 U
• Sorry to Myself
• Hands Clean
• Precious Illusions
• Utopia