The back of
Aslyn
's
Lemon Love
depicts her gazing at her own record on 12" vinyl, complete with
Capitol
's famous rainbow label. It's a fun little fantasy, fitting with the stars, cloud doodles, and vintage headphones that fill out
's charming artwork, because the twentysomething
singer/songwriter
's debut floats somewhere in the blue sky between 1970s MOR
pop
and the slick
adult alternative
sounds of 2005.
"Ain't No Love"
crosses the harmonies of
Queen
"Killer Queen"
with a soulful
Maroon 5
bounce and empowered lines like "I wanna know that I can't be traded...Know who I am is not about make-up." Lead single
"Be the Girl"
doesn't go for the immediate listener connection, like something from
Ashlee
might. Instead it grows on you, building to a driving chorus of brash guitars and
's own Rhodes keying. The production does get a little slick though, as it does throughout
. And that's a bit disappointing, because there are moments when she strains on a high note or fits a bunch of quirky words into one lyric -- Waffle Houses, Mercury Sables, popcorn butter, and Avon cologne -- that you can see
singing her heart out in a club or coffeehouse somewhere, and it's an image closer to the classic
songwriter of the album art's vinyl fantasy than the too-often marketed and packaged stuff of niche-market contemporary life. Coming back to earth, however,
offers plenty of bright choruses and chances for
to use her friendly singing style to pull you in. She's like the friend of the lead in every
romantic comedy
, the girl with all the snappy answers who sings in the shower like the star she should be. The title track is a softer-side highlight,
"Here's to Believe"
finds
R&B
inside
, and
"Golden"
again highlights
's impressive keyboard work. In short, she's made a debut that's easy to enjoy, and comfortable like the dog-eared edges of a trusty LP. ~ Johnny Loftus