Fefe Dobson "Joy"

            Before the arrival of Avril Lavigne, there were other like-minded teens ready to break into the mainstream with brattitude and rock and roll dreams; the first that come to mind are Lillix, Skye Sweetnam, and FeFe Dobson. I like Avril Lavigne, and her music; the next few sentences might make you believe I didn’t enjoy her debut, but I did. The most disappointing scenario was what happened to FeFe’s  debut, which was full of such promise, and took the approach that Prince or Lenny Kravitz would in making a record. The sound was diverse, multilayered, and much more rock-oriented than the debut of Lavigne. Some songs went closer to the right side of pop-metal, and were edgier than Lavigne’s moment of losing grip; that was one of my favorite singles and songs though.                                                                                 Seven years later, and that seems to be a long enough period to be able to reboot her career since she was out of the “public eye” for so long. She can almost release another debut, which she pretty much what she did, under the same name. Dobson is not the same artist she was seven years ago, but who is; everybody changes from time to time. It almost sounds like a whole different artist, but that doesn’t mean that is a bad thing, just different.                                                                                                                                                                                The “Intro” was a ten second sample of several songs from the album. The first song starts with this danceclub pace, ready for girls to get low, and then vanishes like a “Ghost.” The synth, at times, reminds me of the strings used in Janie’s Got a Gun. Kelly Clarkson had several great kiss off songs, Avril had some, and this is FeFe’s (poppiest) kiss off that as she says “Thanks for Nothing”while  simultaneously tells her current friend that “you belong with me.” Speaking of Kelly Clarkson, this is another hooky confection that is reminiscent of one of her big hits off her Breakaway, definite differences aside, and I’m not lying; did you see me “Stuttering?” Well, I wasn’t. This album is just one song after another; why are you rolling your eyes? Ohhh, I forgot to type “great.” That didn't help did it? This next one was the final single, and so much goodness I “Can’t Breathe.” I was referring to the album as a whole, but I do like that solo by Orinathi; Bryan Adams would be proud, because it sounds like heaven to me. Sometimes you cannot refer to someone other than “You B!tch.” This song has enough modern-rock muscle to be played on rock radio, and enough pop sensibility to be played anywhere else, but it never was given a chance."Didn’t See You Coming" could be one of those sneak attacks on the ears to those who believe she cannot even compare to Lavigne."Watch Me Move" is roughly two minutes of pillow talk posturing, but it’s all in good fun. “I Want You” to listen to this song, and see if you hear stuff being said about my generation. What if I told you that "I’m A Lady,"  or that I cannot help but thinking that this dude looks like a lady; oh, and to be clear I was not talking about FeFe. “In Your Touch”  sounds like another love story; as if we needed another one.  This album did give me a good deal of “Joy,” and she still approached this album in the same way, but just decided to take the hookier and poppier side of rock.