Alanis Morissette [ tickets ] has lost some of her fury and edge, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The venting on her multi-platinum, 1995 debut, "Jagged Little Pill," empowered some people, but it alienated others. Morissette's mood and music seem to be more settled today, and that's OK.

Not as expansive as 1998's "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie," or fixated as 2002's "Under Rug Swept," "So-Called Chaos" is one empowering anthem after another: "Out Is Through" smacks of "Pill"'s "Hand In My Pocket," "Excuses" finds Alanis in a self-deprecating extreme, and the Middle-Eastern flavored "Knees Of My Bees" is romantically giddy. "The Grudge" isn't about holding a grudge, it's about letting one go ("but who's done whining now?/who's ready to put down/this load I've carried longer than I had cared to remember.") You go, girl.

Morissette co-produced the album with Tim Thorney and John Shanks, and penned all 10 tracks, which were recorded at Santa Monica's Groove Masters Studios and The Village, and Hollywood's Sage and Sound. Despite all the locations and cooks in the kitchen (including some newer, but solid, bandmates), "So-Called Chaos" has all the ambition of its predecessors, but a truly more worldly view.