Anything

Album review

It's standard operating procedure for an artist to establish herself within a certain genre before alighting on a risky stylistic romp, but Canada's Kinnie Starr has never had much use for convention. On Anything, her fourth disc, she's as out-there and fearless sounding as she was on 2003's Sun Again. But if Anything proves anything, it's that Starr keeps getting better with age. Half of what holds this roundly great disc together is chutzpah. But the other half is pure, remarkable talent: Starr can swerve from a puff-chested hip-hop opener ("You don't appreciate/No room to debate/My eyes don't dilate/Your words have no weight" from "Step Back") to a pop gem (the funky "La Le La La," on which Tegan Quinn contributes vocals) in the space of a song, and when she's not trailblazing through those familiar categories, she's dabbling in the kind of addictive indie introspection at which an artist like Jem excels. Few musical chameleons are as convincing, and none are as charming. Standouts on a disc that should have contemporaries from Nellie McKay to Nelly Furtado taking notice include the dreamy "Rock the Boat" and a not-out-of-place tender spot, "Wind in Your Sails."
© Tammy La Gorce /TiVo