Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/11/2006
While the target audience for
Bratz albums would likely buy them regardless of whether or not they were actually any good, they are surprisingly well-crafted pieces of
pop.
Bratz: Rock Angelz was inspired by the
rock-laced sounds of
Avril Lavigne,
Ashlee Simpson, and
Hilary Duff, and had state-of-the-art
pop songwriters and producers behind it. Its follow-up,
Genie Magic, concentrates on the smooth, sultry sounds of
urban and dance-inspired
teen pop. As the title suggests,
Genie Magic borrows some of the Middle Eastern flourishes trendy in
teen pop since the hits of living
Bratz dolls like
Christina Aguilera's
"Genie in a Bottle" and
Britney Spears'
"Toxic." "Never Gonna Give Up" boasts a bustling, exotic rhythm, flutes, and a bass-heavy breakdown, while
"The Way We Shine"'s zippy synth strings recall
"Toxic"'s irresistible hook. Once again, nameless vocalists lend their pipes to the
Bratz' hyper-real CGI images -- which, come to think of it, isn't all that different than, say, the
Pussycat Dolls' approach to
pop songcraft and presentation (
Genie Magic's opening track
"Me and My Girls" sounds like the
Pussycat Dolls on a particularly girl-positive day). The album's best songs are nearly as well-crafted as the
Bratz: Rock Angelz material; however, it's a little disappointing that
Genie Magic isn't really a full
soundtrack to the
Bratz' second movie. Instead, it collects the new songs from the film, and tracks from the
Bratz TV show. Just as the CGI production values are higher on the
Bratz movies than they are on the series, the songs from the movies also have a bit more care and attention put into them than the songs from the show do. Tracks like
"Only You" and
"Rollin'" are just as slick as the
Bratz movie songs, but not as memorable. Still,
"Makin' It Happen," which sounds like a
Rock Angelz outtake, and
"All Together," a rave-up that's kissing-cousins with
Destiny's Child or
Aguilera's most upbeat moments, are still pretty fun. These plastic girls with a passion for fashion give their living, breathing competition a remarkably strong run for their money, and even though
Genie Magic isn't quite as fully realized as
Bratz: Rock Angelz, it definitely won't disappoint
Bratz fans (fanz?).
~Heather Phares., All Music Guide
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