Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 09/16/2008
Is
Jem a club-ready
electronica chanteuse or an easygoing
adult contemporary artist? It's difficult to tell on
Down to Earth, which furthers the dual personality first shown on
Jem's 2004 debut. The refusal to settle on one style often serves
Jem well, however, and
Down to Earth features a bevy of producers who lend their unique approach to each track. Having created diverse sonic stews for
Lily Allen and
Kylie Minogue -- not to mention his own project,
the Bird and the Bee --
Greg Kurstin stops by to helm
"Aciiid!," a synth-driven dance track sung partially in Japanese. Elsewhere, hip-hop producer
Jeff Bass (who, along with his brother, helped launch
Eminem's career) mashes banjo riffs with funk horns on
"Crazy," and
Lester Mendez (famous for his work with such Latin artists as
Santana,
Shakira, and
Nelly Furtado) employs spoken word samples from
West Side Story during the Spanish-tinged
"I Want You To...." Those energetic tracks are some of the album's highlights, but they go head to head with songs like
"Got It Good," "And So I Pray," and
"On Top of the World," all of which are the stuff of lite FM radio stations. Ultimately, the eclecticism shown
within Jem's songs may well be a detriment to the album as a whole, since
Down to Earth's mix of producers and genres lacks cohesion. It's also worth noting that nothing here is as immediately ingratiating as
"They," and while
"It's Amazing" (another
Mendez vehicle)
does feature a similar chorus -- complete with descending minor chords and repeated iterations of the title -- it can't match the original's spunk and spark.
Down to Earth's title depicts
Jem as a grounded musician, but its wide-ranging sound suggests something different, as the singer has yet to find a style that fully suits her capabilities. Fortunately, her search for the perfect genre still yields some enjoyable songs, as shown by this album's handful of standout tracks.
~Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
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