Bree Sharp: A Cheap And Evil Girl : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

As a rule, having a left-field hit like Bree Sharp's "David Duchovny" -- that bouncy, yearning ode to TV's foxiest secret-agent man -- doesn't actually require being good. In fact, one tends to presume otherwise. But on her seductive debut album, A Cheap and Evil Girl, Sharp comes across as an unusually intelligent and tuneful singer-songwriter. Her pretty voice signals standard folk-rock earnestness, but she offers something smarter and more distinctive than that on songs like "America," "Walk Away," "David Duchovny" and the title track. Fittingly for someone who is now tied to the man who is Mulder, Sharp seems to have a particular interest in exploring modern alienation: She's capable of haunting, dramatic tunes like the exquisite "Walk Away," which recalls Tracy Chapman at her "Fast Car" best. On the basis of A Cheap and Evil Girl, quality might be Sharp's ultimate novelty. (RS 821)

DAVID WILD