Fridae

In the 80s, while gay men had Boy George, Pete Burns (Dead Or Alive) and Marilyn (remember him?) to look up to, many lesbians (including Ms Scary) were falling head over heels or hiking boots for the divine Ms Annie Lennox with her legendary orange crew-cut and her penchant for men's suits.

Now after a long hiatus of 8 years and at the grand dame age of 48, the undisputed White Queen of Soul is back with a brand new album! Entitled Bare, Ms Lennox's 11-track album is her third solo work following Medusa (1991) and Diva (1995).

Despite looking like another bleached-out victim of Michael Jackson's skin surgeon on the album cover, Bare is essentially a cathartic album written by the ex-Eurythmics diva following her divorce with filmmaker Uri Fruchtmann. In fact, Ms Lennox herself admits in an interview that her new album belongs more to the "self help shelves of a book shop, than in record stores". Having said that, one should not labour under the misconception that playing Bare is about as exciting as listening to one's droning therapist.

Produced by long-time collaborator Stephen Lipson, Bare is a rare beauty of an album with its searing honesty and its songs about love, pain and betrayal. Although there are no songs blessed with the titanic-sorrow of "Why" or the immediate melodic hooks of "There Must Be An Angel", Bare contains beautiful and moving tracks through which the 48-year old Lennox "bares" (pardon the pun) her sweet sweet sorrow while sounding resplendent in her shimmering glacial splendour.

Outstanding tracks include "Pavement Cracks" which starts off almost bashfully before picking up tempo and escalating into "Little Bird"-like hoots and "The Hurting Time" which yearns and aches like any good Sade classic. Likewise, "Honestly" is a wonderful track about love's fitful fever while "Loneliness" rocks away with its U2-like sonic reverbs.

Then there is "The Saddest Song I've Got" which is the equivalent of 1992's "Love Song From A Vampire" minus the lush orchestration and the harrowing "Oh God" which conveys the singer-songwriter's tortured mental state as she wrestles with the depression that has stalked her since the age of 14.

A must for gay divorcees, middle-aged homos suffering from post-breakup depression and card-carrying members of the "My Life Is So Bitter" Club.