Lauren Christy's debut album is chock full of ballads that are too smart for adult contemporary audiences, but not edgy enough for listeners of independent music. Her follow-up, 1997's
Breed, was more along the lines of a riot grrl and came along the time
Alanis Morissette,
Tracy Bonham, and other female singer/songwriters were really taking over the charts, and it makes you wonder which is really the path
Christy wanted to pursue, or if both are different aspects of her. Though she wrote or co-wrote each of the songs on this album, there's a blandness to most of them that doesn't warrant repeated listens. On the other hand, "Steep" could be the gentlest, most real, most moving breakup song ever recorded, and "Vanessa's Father," about a girl falling in love with one of her friends' fathers, is so deftly worded and produced that there is nothing icky about the subject matter. Unfortunately, most of the songs just don't stand out at all. ~ Bryan Buss