Artist: Esthero

Album: Wikked Lil Grrrls

Label: Reprise

Tracks: 17

Length: 67:48

 

The first thing about this cd that I noticed was how the cover looked like a pop star wanna-be with a weird Beck twist. The little intentional misspellings in the album and song titles scream of pop conformity. It is no surprise, then, when the first words out of Esthero’s mouth were “I’m so sick and tired of the ---- on the radio, and MTV they play the same thing no matter where I go I see Ashanti in the video, I want something more,” that I burst out laughing.

 

The image and title misspellings could be chalked up to a grave label miscalculation if the music delivered something that didn’t sound custom-made for MTV. If you’re going to criticize the evils of music television and radio then you at least have to deliver something that shows us why you think you can do so. However, when you release a cd that feels like the same ol’ same ol’, then that opening line feels more than a little pretentious and gimmicky.

 

Musically the cd follows the same path as Annie or Jem, but not as good. The cd features sassy and sexy vocals complimenting electronic music that can be silky smooth or harsh and trippy.  While the results aren’t bad, per se, all it does is make me want to listen to Jem instead.

 

The first track, ironically, is the best of the lot. Despite its blind elitism it is the most successful track on the album with some great hip-hop beats and a catchy chorus. After that, though, there is little reason to keep playing the album. So download “We R In Need of a Musical Revolution” from iTunes and leave this cd for those who enjoy MTV pop.