Though she does not look to be much older than the overwhelming (and underwhelming) horde of pop princesses in 2001,
Shea Seger writes and performs with a much more mature grasp of pop history and musical technology. Taking a handful of styles and influences,
Seger makes a powerful musical fist in which tight drumheads and technical tools warp and weave with contemporary and classic passages in a varied baker's dozen of melodies. The easily remixable club pop of "Clutch" comes across as
Olivia Newton-John singing
David Bowie. "Wasting the Rain" continues the Ziggy Stardust vibe with a "Sound + Vision" lyrical lick. "I Can't Lie" mixes
Bowie,
Blondie,
Bonnie Raitt, and
Janis Joplin in a down-home, hand-clappin' porch rocker which reveals the homey imperfections of the song's professed "perfect world." While "Walk on Rainbows" is a thin singer/songwriter poem reminiscent of
Ellis Paul or
Patty Griffin, while "Twisted" rips and screams with the full fury of
Alanis Morissette. "Shatterwall" has sampled voices of old people reminiscent of
Simon and Garfunkel, "Blind Situation" slinks along like a
Talking Head between interruptive rap breaks, and the title source track takes more than a little from
Bob Seger. Interludes such as the redundant (and greatly unnecessary) breakbeat loop "Rooftop Animals" and guest spots by
Pharrell Williams (
the Neptunes) and a
Paul Young/
Ray Davies-esque
Ron Sexsmith further complicate the task of defining
Seger's sound, but each part of this Project makes for quite a tuneful work of craft. ~ Matthew Robinson