The breakout star from the burgeoning Romanian dance scene that has also spawned the likes of
Alexandra Stan and
Edward Maya, permanently scantily clad
Inna has been pivotal in restoring some musical pride to a country whose only previous notable contribution to the pop landscape was
the Cheeky Girls. Produced by regular cohorts
Play & Win, her second album,
I Am the Club Rocker, picks up where her debut,
Hot, left off, with 13 sun-soaked Europop tracks that appear destined to blare out of various Club 18-30 hotspots until the inevitable 6-a.m. stagger back to the hotel. As individual pieces of undemanding trance/house-lite pop, the summery flamenco-tinged "Un Momento" and "Endless," the Italo house throwbacks "No Limit" and "House Is Going On," and the dreamy chillout of "July" and "Senorita" all provide the necessary Mediterranean "booze cruise" vibes. But over the course of an entire album, the constant stream of Auto-Tuned vocals, Balearic beats, and kaleidoscopic synths begins to wear very thin indeed, with only the twisted techno riffs and phoned-in
Flo Rida rap on "Club Rocker" and the "California Girls" ripoff "Moon Girl" deviating from the tried-and-tested formula. It's quite an achievement for any Euro-dance artist to make it to a second album, but
Inna is going to have to change the record quickly if she wants to avoid the novelty-act fate of her homeland's formerly most famous pop export. ~ Jon O'Brien