Bree Sharp - More B.S. (2002)

Bree Sharp sharpens her focus on this engaging sophomore effort that emphatically thrusts the commercial pop back into alternative rock. Whether she subconsciously conjures Sheryl Crow's rootsy pathos, as in "Everything Feels Wrong" and "The Ballad of Grim and Lily," or turns the gender tables around on a spit-fire cover of Don Henley's classic "Boys of Summer," Sharp's feminine swagger is heartening and authentic. "Lazy Afternoon" kicks off the disc with a strong four-to-the-bar rocker worthy of a Ray Davies comparison, especially when the bridge modulates and Sharp ups the ironic ante. "Morning in a Bar" waxes psychedelic (note the "Strawberry Fields" motif tucked behind the verses), while the ribald folk-rock ditty "Dirty Magazine" might of been the sort of taboo topic that Marianne Faithfull would have pined with great controversy circa 1966. More B.S. is better.