Polly Scattergood

English singer/songwriter Polly Scattergood's eponymous debut oozes the kind of potential that makes one forgive the occasional misstep. Her heart is firmly sewn into her sleeve, and she details the peaks, valleys, and especially the wreckage of that muscular organ in a way that only those trapped in their self-absorbed late teens and early twenties can. Less vindictive and aloof than Lily Allen, less stylized and groomed for oblivion than Amy Winehouse, but possessing both of those artists' penchant for slick, confessional, melodic pop diatribes, Scattergood embraces the early 21st century electro-dance-pop of London proper with a voice that suggests a childhood filled with endless nights spent listening to Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and Nine Inch Nails. At her best, like on the slow-burn opener "I Hate the Way," the lovelorn Xanax and sambuca anthem "Other Too Endless," and the rousing single "Nitrogen Pink," she successfully bridges the gap between teen pop and adult alternative rock, but when she gets stuck in the confessional too long ("Poem Song," "Breathe in Breathe Out"), the results are more indulgent than powerful. ~ James Christopher Monger