Poe: Haunted : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

On her second album, former angry-young-singer-songwriter Poe comes on like an ambient arena queen. Unfortunately, Haunted reverberates with tired samples, rehashed echo effects and beats so plodding they could stop a metronome. Poe deserves some props for her blond ambition: Her surprisingly effective voice just about salvages Haunted. When she growls, "Come a little bit closer/I wanna look at you" on "Control," she conveys just enough menace to jar the song from its overproduced narcolepsy. Haunted's first single, the sticky pink "Walk the Walk," has clumsy lines like "I wanna walk to the beat of my own drum," but Poe's attitudinal snarl sounds smart -- smart like a fox looking to burrow into the MTV Buzz Bin. Can't wait for the remix album. (RS 851)

NEVA CHONIN