Melanie CNorthern Star Virgin
Melanie C is not a whore. She has gone hardcore.
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Contemporary pop music blows. The current revival of bubblegum, which we all thought died in the early '90s but which has somehow found its way back into our ears, has been leaving people more jaded and bleak than happy or peppy or bursting with love. You could say this is all the fault of one group: the Spice Girls. Without these pouty Britons proving you can sell music of little substance, you wouldn't have the Britneys or the Rickys or the endless number of boy groups. With contemporary music overrun by these half-wits, you have to wonder whether the Girls will come out of their villas anytime soon to reclaim their throne. Geri Halliwell (a.k.a. Ginger Spice), with the release of her Schizophonic album last summer, has already given up on the midnight-blue eye shadow and stripper wardrobe to become a Serious Artist. The result: If you don't have the other four bouncy broads for distraction, you're just another hollow voice struggling for attention. Melanie Chisholm (that's right, Sporty Spice) carries the same burden with the release of her solo album, Northern Star. But this Spice Gal has another burden to shoulder: As the one with actual talent, she has been expected to make decent music.
For her solo flight, Chisholm is not sporting that Martha Quinn-goes-to-Bally's look we all know and love. She's grungy, like a good girl trying to fit in at an L7 concert. It's a forgivable affectation, particularly since her album starts off so promising, with Madonna collaborator William Orbit producing the hectic opening track, "Go!"
But it's the third track, "Goin' Down," that really stands out. Over industrial beats, Chisholm's intentionally muffled voice wages war on the bevy of detractors she has accumulated. With defensive, unapologetic lyrics like "From this little hitch / I have become a superbitch" and "I am not a whore / I have gone hardcore," she ends up convincing you she's pissed.
If only the entire album were like this. Regrettably, Northern Star is more hard pop than hardcore, and Chisholm often ventures into appeasing pop stylings. The subversive luster of "Goin' Down" shows up only in brief spurts, like on the Breeders-style can't-get-enough-of-you tune "Ga Ga" and the smoky and sultry "Why."
Perhaps the most baffling selection on the album is "Suddenly Monday," an unceasingly cheery Abbey Road-type tune that throws that whole hardcore claim off. However sunny it may be, it sounds amazingly out of place on the record. It sounds like it belongs onŠ a Spice Girls album. (Actually, if this were the kind of shit the Spice Girls did with their music, they wouldn't be nearly as grating.)
We shouldn't really bash Chisholm for attempting to do something different. But you can only wish she had come a little more raw on this effort. Maybe she should start collaborating with a member of the Wu-Tang Clan or something. It's not like she couldn't pull this off. Not only is she the Spice Girl with talent, she's the one with balls. -- Craig D. Lindsey
