Kinnie Starr

Over the course of her career, Kinnie Starr has proven remarkably committed to unconventionality. Her everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach has landed her some high-profile collaborations (Tegan and Sara), placement in popular TV shows (The L Word) and international tours. Unfortunately, her determination for diversity has also yielded some pretty terrible songs along the way. Specifically, it’s her insistence on rapping that plagues her new record, Anything. Embarrassing album opener "Step Back” features Starr slow rapping over a flyweight beat, drawing out the last syllable of each bar for maximum annoyance. The chorus, "Step back, got no more space for you / Gonna get free from that shit you do” is repeated endlessly, you know, to get it stuck in your head. The next track combines more bad rapping with a Hilary Duff-style rock out (seriously, these guitars sound more worked-over than an audience member in one of G.W. Bush’s town hall meetings). The second half of the album finds Starr staying within her niche — "Please Hold My Hand” is a brittle ballad, "Sex in the Prairies” an ominous torch somewhat reminiscent of PJ Harvey, and "Black Brown Eyes” a down-tempo slow burn with pretty vocals. But these highlights don’t make up for the supremely misguided rap tracks that bog down the first half of the disc. Starr’s scattershot style is certainly unpredictable, but often in the bad way: Anything is an only half-listenable mess of bad ideas running amok.