Judging by the album’s title, I know what you’re thinking: “When did Aunt Mary’s tea cup poodle, Fefe, cut a record deal?” Wrong Fefe, and thankfully this Fefe has a lot more to sing about than your aunt’s annoying dog.
With the release of her debut album, Fefe Dobson is the new face of sassy pop rock. She might be a bit late for the pop princess era, but her smooth voice more than makes up for her tardiness.
Dobson’s 12-track record is shockingly impressive. Her voice is strong and sweet, while her lyrics are catchy and endearing. Her music could easily be stuffed in the wannabe girly-pop-rock-princess drawer and forgotten about. But don’t dismiss her and stash her under your pre-femi-harlot-Xtina CDs just yet.
Dobson means well, which is apparent in her music’s content. Unlike her pop predecessors, Dobson’s songs are more than a mess of superficial teeny-bopperness.
In “Revolution Song,” Dobson compares her current relationship to war. She soulfully muses against a guitar, “And revolution is near/In my room I hear the echoes of a recent battle/Lost and wounded as the faded cries begin to settle/For the night/But the words you use to hurt me now/Only seem to make me stronger somehow.”
Dobson’s attempt to stand apart from the rest and make her mark as a young teen with something important to say is clearly notable. Her unique style shines through in every song she writes. Each song is different than the last, from lyrical content to instrumentation.
Her voice also has an incredible range, sounding soulful and smooth or powerful and poppy. Dobson’s first album, if anything, is a foreshadowing of her staying power. She combines poppy, but true to the heart lyrics, with bits of punk, dance and rock-n-roll.
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