Noise From The Basement (Digital Album)

by

Skye Sweetnam

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I only found out about Skye Sweetnam recently, and I'm sure glad I did! Noise From the Basement, her debut album, is nothing short of great. I admit, I was a little hesitant at first to buy this. It's easy to dismiss Skye as just another teeny-bop act. But I can tell you that Skye is *not* just another face in the crowd. This album is impressive, and goes way above what one would initially expect from this genre of music.

Yes, comparisons to Avril Lavigne are going to fly left and right. After all, both Avril and Skye are "punk-rock chicks." Both are about the same age. Both are Canadian. But that's really where the comparisons stop. While Avril's music has its merits, her albums tend to follow one single theme and stick with it, causing all the songs to sound alike. But Noise From the Basement is a refreshing change from that. Each song seems to have its own personality. There's also a quirky variety to this album, most notably an unexpected (but great) cover of Blondie's "Heart Of Glass."

Lyrically, Skye sings about stuff that, well, girls her age think about. It's sure better than if she tried to sing about more adult-oriented themes and end up coming across as pretentious or just having no clue. The lyrics on Noise From the Basement may not be deep or profound, but they're genuine. I mean, didn't we all think about these things when we were her age?

If you like music with energy to it, that's fun to listen to while not taking itself too seriously, Noise From the Basement is a great buy. Skye Sweetnam is going places.

Skye Sweetnam's debut album "Noise From the Basement" proves that the young lady certainly has talent, but has a long way to go. Released in her native Canada back in May, the collection of punk-infused pop was released four months later in the US and entered Billboard's Heatseeker chart at #4. The lead single "Tangled Up In Me" is currently impacting radio across the country.

Once you've given Sweetnam your undivided attention, it is clear to see that she is armed with loads of potential. One thing for certain is that the young singer/songwriter has the art of writing strong melodies down pat. However, not all the songs make use of that strength, and all of them are essentially overstuffed with laughable rhymes and teenage clichés. Take for instance these from "I Don't Really Like You."

"You and your friends are dense/You don't make any sense/It's all at your expense/Cause I don't really like you, I don't really like you."

Her image also seems very contrived and record company-created; anyone who takes a few moments to think can see it's fresh off the Avril Lavigne boat. After all, who wouldn't want to replicate such incredible success? Unfortunately, one repercussion of this could be that Sweetnam will get too precisely categorized, which is never an ingredient for lasting success. It could also result in her losing her own sense of identity, which would be a big waste, since she clearly is a budding talent. The greatest example of that talent is the cathartic "Smoke and Mirrors."

"Bottled up is where our fears go, our fears go/We will never show our fear/They'll tear us up until our tears show, our tears show/Smoke and mirrors/It's about smoke and mirrors."

Some final downsides to the album are her cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass," which is not particularly engaging, as well as the fact that the album is rather short, with the majority of the tracks not surpassing three minutes each. When all is said and done, however, Sweetnam does give off a positive aura. One should hope that, with time, she will come into her own. For now, however, she radiates more obvious potential than talent.