Record Exchange Boise

Reviews:

For a paragraph or two, this 23-year-old male writer is going to pretend he's an impressionable 14-year-old girl who just got her braces off and bellybutton pierced. Before you assume this is an excuse to slip on a miniskirt, smear glittery pink gloss on my lips, and call myself Mandy, hear me out: the only way to stomach and subsequently appreciate the British pop of Natasha Bedingfield is to listen through the confused lens of your little sister. You might snicker at the puppy love ballad "Stumble"; your sister will request it as a slow dance jam at the junior prom. You might scoff at the inspirational church choir and "today is where your book begins" chorus of "Unwritten"; your sister will play it to fool herself into thinking she just made some life-changing decision (like showing a bit of cleavage after mom explicitly said to "cover those things up"). Finally, you might think Bedingfield has no right to go the Destiny's Child route with the independent women rally "Single"; your sister will blast every bar when her first boyfriend dumps her for not sliding headfirst into second base. And so on. Such is the way of candy-coated, whipped cream-centered pop music that wasn't written for you anyway.

The important thing is Bedingfield knows exactly what she's doing. She's got a single ready for every adolescent emotion, a tastefully-produced response to every question of "what does it all mean?" Bedingfield is also aware of how-thanks to Britney and every other manufactured automaton with breasts-most people perceive pop stars as people who can't sing or write their own songs. She even goes so far as to insist "these words are my own" on the opening track. Fair enough. Especially since she can actually sing-something the UK has recognized with triple platinum album sales and one cheap trophy after another. The real test now is whether or not she'll be the next Kylie (a European pop diva D.O.A. Stateside). For now, Mandy insists you buy one copy for every one of your younger cousins.