This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Ever since the dawn of time, pop stars have not been born — they’ve been made. These days, though, they aren’t just made — they’re gene-spliced.
Case in point: Fefe Dobson, the latest pret-a-porter pop singer to be disgorged from the star-maker machinery. From her look to her licks and lyrics, this Toronto songstress is and her debut disc come off as an entity that has been precisely, transparently and unapologetically calculated to appeal to every single mall-cruising teenager in the world. To that end, these 12 songs are a jumble of sounds and styles — urban funky-girl pop, punk sass, street-poetess, guitar-chick rock, you name it. Depending on your tastes, a few tracks connect — particularly the punky dittie Stupid Little Love Song, the classic banger Rock it Till You Drop It and the metallic Unforgiven. Doubtless some others will be hits that propel Dobson to the top of the charts and the red carpet (if not the podium) at the Junos. When it’s all said and done, however, Dobson and her debut album are little more than the sum of their recycled parts.
