"On her debut album she takes listeners on a cathartic emotional journey right up to the edge that has more to do with the likes of early Liz Phair or PJ Harvey than her adolescent peers in the top 40. It would be hard to find such a truthful, poetic peek into the mind of a smart, savvy young woman who's seen more of life than maybe anyone needs to."
After quite the introduction, I was expecting some emotional, epic rock album that forever changed the way I thought about the latest crop of the female so-called solo artists like Avril, FeFe Dobson, and whoever else graces the screens of our music television. What was I thinking? Much like her peers Avril, FeFe, and Hilary Duff this is pop music done wrong, very wrong.
For starters it appears like Rose is struggling to even find a sound that is hers and teeters between pop and polished overproduced rock. The first single "Overdrive" is a page taken directly from her aforementioned peers driven by guitars while Rose sings, "Yea, Yea I'm independence, Yea, Yea I'm borderline, Yea, Yea I'm California." "Watching The Rain" sounds like Luscious Jackson's little sister got a four track recorder for Christmas and decided to record a song. "Enchanted" is a rock like ballad that features hand bells on the choruses over the line, "I'm still enchanted. You're still implanted in me." "Snowflakes" has a Fiona Apple feel to it but not near as good, while "Teachin' Myself To Dream" a song powered by an acoustic guitar, clean electric, and drums sounds very reminiscent of Michelle Branch.
The album picks back up with "Vacation" in which the sixteen year old Rose does her best to sound like a rock star where she sings, "Oh I don't need an education, Just a microphone's intoxication" but wait it gets much better with the line, "I've lost all sense of navigation, but got my Cali-fornication."
The album closes out in dramatic fashion with the acoustic "Because I Can" which also uses strings. When I was reading the lyrics I felt guilty like I was reading someone's really bad attempts at poetry in their diary. With lines like "I'll follow you like a sing-a-long" or better yet, "I can't say if what I did was right, but you let me go like your sister's kite" or even "I need to take a shower when I look at you, you sting and hurt like a bad tattoo" it made me cringe.
Her sound is all over the place, and not only that it is borrowed and mundane from others who are not even doing a good job at it themselves. Because I Can is not any worse than the Avril's of the world, it's just not any different.
1/4
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1999SonicFloodSonicFlood
2005Lystra's SilenceDeep Calls to Deep
2004Sunfall FestivalBang Bang Bang
2005Addison RoadAlways Loved You
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