I have to disagree with L.P.’s designation of her music as “Southern music for Yankees,” though. When listening to the head-banging rhythm and guitar scrub of “The Darkside,” I could almost see baby dykes jumping around while building a skateboard ramp in their parent’s backyard. There is a youthful energy and simplicity to the song that is very appealing; it maintains a garage edge while screaming suburban milieu, with all the protected comfort and malaise that entails.

“All I Have” is an ode to L.P.’s deceased mother, a former opera singer. It is sweet and sentimental without being saccharine. It sounds like a tougher version of the Ashlee Simpson pop hit “Pieces of Me,” which isn’t an insult. I think it’s a catchy song.

The title track opens with a single guitar, then her epic voice singing clear and true about “want[ing] to change/but you haven’t yet.” The song is soft and sultry, then blasts into a ripping electric guitar solo as L.P. belts out the refrain. This is the best showcase on the album for L.P.'s extensive vocal training in both rock and classical opera styles—it’s a house burner like 4 Non Blondes' “What’s Going On” or Melissa Etheridge’s “Bring Me Some Water” that I can’t wait to see live.

Then there is the raw sexiness of “Little Death,” a synonym for orgasm. It’s a dirty love song for your favorite girl. With the aggressive style of Joan Jett’s Runaways-era “Cherry Bomb,” L.P. asks “Did you feel that baby?/I just came.”

“Nowhere,” the eighth track, is almost too polished in its delivery. The band, a bunch of guys that rock, sound a little hotel lounge-ish. With the lyrics about parting and a kind of loser subject that is “going nowhere,” I would have liked less easy-rock-sounding music to accompany the words, and more rough edges and gut emotion. L.P. seems to have the ability to chew up the mike, but she sounds reined-in and well-behaved on this song.

There is a mixture of vocal techniques used on this album that could highlight L.P.’s range, but they don’t; instead it sounds like she's trying to sing differently on each track, sometimes nasally and high and other times working the Dee Snyder throat-wrenching growl. This makes it hard to tell what she actually sounds like.

But this is only L.P.’s second solo album (she also released with former band Lionfish) so maybe she will settle into a more distinct and easily recognizable sound in the future. She will definitely be out there in the future—she has all the elements of a budding star.

Check out L.P.'s website for road blogs, info on tour dates, and hot t-shirts,
or buy the CD