There comes a point in every young starlet's career where she feels the need to put out a crappy album. Now is that time for newly-minted triple-threat Lindsay Lohan.
"Speak" is an unoriginal, fun album with a rock edge. The auburn-locked bad girl sings about relationships (she's had a few) and being harassed by the paparazzi. Musical comparisons abound, from Avril to Save Ferris and Madonna and even a touch of Duran Duran.
Lohan's debut album, "Speak," was released on Casablanca in early December. Lindsay fans love it, music critics slam its redundancy and Hilary Duff burns with envy.
Lohan first loaned her vocal talents to a number of her big screen endeavors, the most notable being the soundtrack to "Freaky Friday."
All her previous music has been the buoyant stuff that Disney dreams and coffers are made of, but "Speak" reveals a different musical identity for the buxom Miss Lindsay.
It may be too early to tell, but she seems more punk, like Ashlee than sappy like Jess, and her videos rival Britney's. If you listen to the gossip, her physical idol is Mary Kate Olsen.
The first track on the LP, aptly titled "First," is a gritty, fun rock song highlighted with crunching guitars and Lohan's raspy voice. The song is exuberant and defiant and absolutely stands out. "Doesn't she know that it's too late/ That the party is over and the car's for me/Don't wanna be like every other girl in the world/ Like every other one who wants you…I wanna come first."
"Nobody Till You" and "First" brand Lohan as a voice as well as a personality, bottom line, her range is decent, unlike rival Hilary Duff, and that makes some otherwise sappy songs listenable.
The first single off the album, "Rumors" is a Britney-esque club hit that is so electronically tweaked that it sounds like any other pasteurized pop diva. "Rumors" has been constant radio fodder, but it wasn't the best choice for the up-and-coming artist's debut, since it could easily be mistaken for the usual pop drivel.
The title track "Speak" is another cheap electronika club song; Lohan's voice is barely distinguishable through the weird synth noise and eerie breathing.
"Over" will be the second single off the album, which essentially sounds like an Avril tribute-minus Avril's trademark soaring vocals and meaningful lyrics.
There are few songs that the album could have done without; "Something I Never Had" and "Symptoms of You" are both gag-inducing sentimental garbage.
"Disconnected" is an angsty hit that reflects on our cellular generation as well as the heartbreak of breaking up; "Broken off again/ And I'm only not lonely when I'm lonely again/ All in all, I'm disconnected." Lohan's scratchy voice crescendos impressively throughout the track.
The album may be marred by a few clich?d lyrics, but nonetheless it comes off as more derivative than plagiaristic. The girl definitely has talent, which is something that can't be said about Duff or the currently brunette Simpson.
Lohan even had a hand in writing a few of the tracks. Fans won't be disappointed. Critics still waver on its sameness.
