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Southern Hummingbird
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Barnes and Noble
Southern Hummingbird
Current price: $63.99
Barnes and Noble
Southern Hummingbird
Current price: $63.99
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Size: OS
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Prior to her debut album,
,
made her name as a protegee of
, appearing as a backing/guest vocalist on a few tracks with
and, naturally,
's producer,
. It should come as no surprise that those are the two dominant personalities on
, even if
produces and co-writes several cuts here, since this whole axis has one sound that has served them well. Served them so well, it's given them critical and chart hits, along with a host of imitators, so there is no reason to abandon it now, even if the skeletal rhythms and endlessly looped riffs are beginning to wear a bit thin. This formula depends more on the overall sound of the track than the charisma of the singer -- but, ironically enough, it works best when its fronted by somebody with personality, like
.
fades into the mix. She's attractive and is sweetly sexy, but isn't forceful. That works to her advantage on the lead single,
where she's so taken by a seduction she can barely speak, or even name who's taking her. Driven by a clever Casio-bass clarinet loop, it's the hottest thing on the record, punctured slightly by
's disarming murmur, "I was feeling so good I had to touch myself," but it's good enough to withstand that. The rest of
sustains the essential feel of that track, occasionally forcing a
-era
to the forefront (which is welcome), and it does have a few songs that distinguish themselves, such as
but it all blends together a little bit too much to be distinctive and, as such, it has a faint feel of product, a slow seduction record for the
-worshipping hipster set. A feel that is only enhanced by the end of the record, when
actually records her thank you shout-outs as a full track, then, as a bonus, there are two uncredited
tracks that don't seem to have a trace of
to them. Their inclusion is puzzling, unless you consider them the overdue payment of distinctive
for those hardcore fans who sat through the even-handed, stylish but samey
that is
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine