Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 09/27/2005
Half soundtrack, half
teen pop debut album,
Emma Roberts'
Unfabulous and More features songs from the
Nickelodeon series
Unfabulous -- in which
Roberts plays
Addie Singer, a sensitive but sassy 13 year old who writes songs to cope with the ups and downs of adolescence -- as well as a few new tracks. Much like
Hilary Duff's first forays into
pop during
Lizzie McGuire,
Roberts is fresh and genuine, and the album is filled with sweet, idealistic songs sung by a young girl who sounds like a young girl instead of a
pop tart.
Unfabulous and More is just as musically eclectic, if not more so, than many of the albums by established teen divas: it spans the big, shiny
pop of
"I Wanna Be," the spunky
rock of
"Punch Rocker," and
"Say Goodbye to Jr. High," a detailed look into the inner workings of the junior-high caste system set to bittersweet
synth pop, in just the first three tracks. Like many other
teen pop albums, there's a small army of writers, producers, and musicians responsible for these songs, but
Unfabulous and More actually manages to sound like the voice of one girl. Many of the best songs were written by
Jill Sobule, whose work has always had a sometimes-sweet, sometimes-sharp insight into young women's thoughts.
"New Shoes" captures the giddy delight of getting a new pair of kicks, while
"94 Weeks (Metal Mouth Freak)" nails the prison-like feeling of putting your teeth in a cage. Though the song is more than a little self-pitying, and much like having braces, goes on a little too long, it's still kind of remarkable that this teenage rite of passage and the worries surrounding it (will you still like me if I have braces?) hasn't had a song dedicated to it before. Songs like
"Mexican Wrestler" and
"Dummy" -- a kiss-off song dedicated to a friend who's becoming a poser -- also add some quirky but perceptive twists to teen angst.
Unfabulous and More may be too earnest and innocent for fans of glossier, more glamorous
teen pop, but based on these songs, it's easy to hear why
Unfabulous, and
Roberts, strike a chord with teenage girls.
~Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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