Natasha Bedingfield
Strip Me (Epic)
By Rachel Phipps
Published: December 28th, 2010 | 7:00am
During the first spin, Strip Me, the latest offering from Natasha Bedingfield, comes off as a slight disappointment. The titular and opening track barely has the range of an arpeggio which proves for rather laborious listening—not a promising start when there are still 13 tracks left to plow through. However, the feisty but vulnerable persona that seemed Bedingfield's trademark on Unwritten is still here. “Weightless,” with its upbeat dance rhythm and empowering lyrics (“I have to keep reminding myself / I'm not like anyone else / That's my face / I'm not ugly / That makes me VIP”) is quite good, and the cleverly written “No Mozart” shows off impressive vocals while chilled instrumentals provide the perfect backing.
From the first few beats to the repetitive lyrical pattern, “All I Need” instantly reminds listeners of Rihanna's “Shut Up and Drive” with vibes stolen from fellow songstress Pixie Lott's “Boys and Girls.” It may work for them, but Bedingfield has proven herself a very different artist, and the style seems bizarrely out of place.
Strip Me is a chocolate box record—you have your favorite caramels and fondant centers and the stale, candy coated almonds and marzipans that have gone too hard to bite into. There are tracks you'll learn to love, and then those that really should not have made it on the finished product.
__
Natasha Bedingfield official site
Natasha Bedingfield MySpace page
Epic Records
Issue #18
Comments
Want to tell us what you think? Please click here to log in or just click here for quick comments