This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Kinnie Starr is finally starting to live up to her last name.
After keeping a low profile for the last few years, the eclectic Vancouver hip-hopper is busting out all over these days. She’s got a new solo album, a role in a rock-chick flick and — strangest of all — a two-year vocal gig with Cirque du Soleil starting in July in Vegas.
First and foremost, of course, there’s Sun Again, her third album and first release since 2000’s Tune-Up. Less overtly political and more laid-back than her past works, these cuts recall primo Luscious Jackson with their low-impact grooves, sing-songy melodies, spacey arrangements, sensual vibes and quirkily flowing rhymes. Of course, given that Luscious Jackson stopped being cool about five years ago, Sun Again, while certainly painless, is a long way from groundbreaking.
It’s also a long way from the punk-infused sound of The Dolls, the fictional Northwestern band for which Kinnie plays drums in the new indie flick Down & Out With the Dolls. Its 12-song soundtrack strikes a nice balance between Sleater-Kinneyish cuts from the fictional foursome and cuts from real McCoy outfits like The Bands and Angoras. Ultimately, maybe neither one shows Starr in her best light — guess we’ll just have to wait for that Cirque du Soleil album.
