Lindsay Lohan

Is it good or bad when the most notable aspect of an album is its drumming? Throughout Lindsay Lohan's A Little More Personal (Raw), the drums give every crisply produced track a welcome jolt of energy. It's a peculiar element to hail, but imagining this mawkish metapop without the percussive clatter is pretty unpleasant. A Little More Personal (Raw) wastes no time earning its title, opening with the maudlin "Confessions of a Broken Heart," where Lohan screams for her father's affection with Lennon-level anguish. (Is that why she references the postman?) The track's rising tension is lost when Lohan fails to pull off the Oscar-scene a cappella bridge, making the rest of the track a slog. Although the cuts are lush with digital kinetics, her lack of vocal confidence keeps her from conveying more than the simplest desires. The album's cover tracks reflect this: Lohan's fine yelping carries her version of Cheap Trick's raucous "I Want You to Want Me," but the sentiments of Stevie Nicks's melodramatic "Edge of Seventeen" are too cryptic for Lohan to make memorable. The album is ironically closer to the über-produced melodic stomping of Good Charlotte than anything by rival and GC consort Hilary Duff. Still, only the saucy electroclash of "Who Loves You" compares to "First," Lohan's aggressive, laser-sharp hit from the Herbie: Fully Loaded soundtrack, which is still her finest track to date. Next time around, if she's determined to be a little more personal, it might help to sound a little less raw.