Stefy - The Orange Album

Genre rock Publisher Wind-Up Records External Links Official Stefy Website Official Wind-Up Records Website

The Orange Album (someone really should have given more thought to the title) from Wind-Up Records artist Stefy is a solid record of fun, danceable, non-threatening, pop. While the songs are less edgy than No Doubt's, less poetic than Frou Frou's, less funky than the Black Eyed Peas, less hooky than Pink's, they aren't embarrassing. Stefy is already a blip on the teenager radar because of the new film John Tucker Must Die, with two Stefy songs on the soundtrack, "Chelsea" and "Fool for Love."

It is not big surprise that the song "Chelsea," is the first single as it is by far the catchiest and strongest of the eleven songs featured here. "Orange County" most certainly could appear on The O.C. during one of those really emotional moments where a character breaks her nail after slapping her stepmother across the face for sleeping with her boyfriend. The opening of "Orange Crush" (no it's not an R.E.M. cover, thank God) sounds a lot like the opening of "Smile Like You Mean It" by The Killers, but it quickly shifts to a poppier song about the actual soda. Orange soda being a metaphor for all things that seem like a good idea at the time, but in the end, are actually bad for you. "Where are the Boys" will most certainly be the next single, although too bad the album is being released at the end of the summer, as it would have been the perfect soundtrack for a beach volleyball game.

While Stefy Rae and her band might not change the face of pop music, they aren't embarrassing themselves in the process. With the right marketing campaign, the right clothes and a strongly choreographed live show, Stefy just might find herself thrown into the ring with those other all-too-famous pop princesses. If she doesn't let the media circus drag her down, she just may end up being taken as seriously as her famous O.C. neighbor, Gwen Stefani.