OTTAWA - She's older and wiser, but the jagged little lyrics that catapulted Alanis Morissette from pop tart to angry young woman with a message remain on her latest CD, Flavours of Entanglement.

Morissette, an Ottawa native who plays the NAC tomorrow night, may have had a laugh with her cover of the Black Eyed Peas' hit My Humps, but the brimstone of botched relationships is never far from the surface. Such is the case with Flavours, her ode to her breakup with actor Ryan Reynolds.

In a conference call, Morissette sounded at ease, comfortable in her own skin, and, yes, still strong and defiant.

Asked to describe what the new CD means to her, the 34-year-old singer-songwriter was as forthcoming as her reputation.

"It reflected some serious disassembling in my personal life and it's sort of far-reaching. It allowed me to hit rock-bottom in a way I'd never done before. I'd always bottom dwelled, but never bounced off the bottom."

It's that kind of honesty many feel opened the door for women to write and sing as catharsis rather than as the victimized good-hearted woman in love with a two-timing man.

The scathing words on her 1995 blockbuster single You Oughta Know made sure of that. She has worn the anger from that song and its album, Jagged Little Pill, like a second skin for years, but being labelled a one-dimensional artist doesn't sit well with her.

"If I'm going to be one-dimensional, then it's an honour to be considered angry because anger has been swept under the carpet so much with regards to women that it's flattering," she said. "But then the people who want to go into the deeper layers certainly will have a lot more come up than that."

As if to prove the point, concerts on this tour include a blend of the old wrath, new acoustic ballads and even an up-tempo dance tune or two.

"I (recently) designed the set list and it is, hands down, my favourite list," she says of what her fans can expect at the NAC. "It's a combination of wonderful self-indulgence that keeps me and everybody on stage really happy."

Morissette plays the NAC's Southam Hall tomorrow at 8 p.m. Tickets at www.ticketmaster.ca.