Ashlee Simpson's I Am Me: Stating the Obvious!

All Ashlee Simpson wanted to do was establish herself as a credible pop/rock singer independent from her big sister's shadow. And her wish seemed granted when Autobiography became a smash hit album right out the box….for about 6 months. And then came the infamous SNL fiasco - quickly followed by the Orange Bowl debacle - that turned Ashlee into the laughingstock of the music industry, and of America. The backlash was extremely quick and severe and caused Ashlee to just as quickly lose what little credibility she had earned.

And so in a last-ditch attempt to remind the few people that might still give half a damn why they loved her in the first place, while subsequently causing a change of heart in the rest, in just under 15 months after the birth of her debut, Ashlee issues her plea for redemption in the form of her sophomore release, aptly titled I Am Me.

Now obviously, the whole point of this record is to show that a) Ashlee is still a talented and credible pop/rock singer and b) she's living proof of being made stronger instead of being killed. And while the former argument is made fairly well, the latter doesn't apply as much to the record as it might to Ashlee personally. While still a good record, considering it was a rush-record and rush-release, as a whole, I Am Me is about as strong as her debut, but not stronger by any means.

Essentially, Ashlee and her production/writing team of John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi wanted to showcase how much of a, let's say, competent singer and songwriter she is. So they decided to tone down the arrangements in some instances, make them crunch more in others, and allow Ashlee the chance to tackle "deeper" subjects lyrically, all in an effort to establish her talent and versatility…

…lead single, Boyfriend, notwithstanding. Written as nothing more than a kiss-off to one Ms. Lindsay Lohan, while the rhythm, melody, and hook are catchy-as-all-get-out, the vapid lyricism and Ashlee's country-fied vocal turn only give people more of a reason to laugh at Ashlee, instead of with her. But that record, along with L.O.V.E. and Burnin' Up, are very tongue-in-cheek tunes meant to impart a little fun and lightheartedness into what is otherwise a very "deep and dark" album. The former, a lighthearted techno-lite-pop romp about hanging out and having a good time with the girls, is prime single material (even if it is a tad short; 2:34) while the latter tries to impart a little funk into the album and ends up as the album's biggest stumble for painfully obvious reasons.

But those records aside, it's not to say the remainder of the album is rocket science either; vocally, Ashlee may not be the star that shines brightest (especially considering her raspy growl is more of an affectation just to distance her sound that much further from Jessica's) but that's not to say she isn't a good singer; she's just misguided. Several times throughout this record, she tries to find her vocal niche and we see the results of such experimentation; either she injects some real pain and emotion (and tone!) into a record (Beautifully Broken, Catch Me When I Fall, Say Goodbye), sounds gratingly obnoxious for the sake of being gratingly obnoxious (I Am Me), or imitates a sex-kitten tipsy off of catnip (Burnin Up), all to irregular degrees of entertainment.

Lyrically, Ashlee tries to dig a little deeper and give her angst-ridden, post-adolescent diary entries more of an intellectual and mature vibe and, again, hits or misses the target at any given time. When she gets confessional is when she's at her best; Beautifully Broken being a gorgeously mellow pop-rocker that shows Ashlee exhibiting real emotion as she sings of how she learned to embrace her flaws and imperfections, both inside and outside the spotlight and Catch Me When I Fall taking it a step further, Ashlee digging a little deeper and describing how the SNL snafu made her question who was truly on her side with nothing more than an acoustic piano by her side.

In a nutshell; the highlights are her two moments in the confessional (Beautifully Broken, Catch Me When I Fall), her impersonation of Britney Spears gone "rock" (L.O.V.E.), her sequel to "Pieces of Me" (In Another Life), her pointlessly cryptic and metaphorical ramble about kept secrets (Eyes Wide Open), and her nostalgic, made-for-80s-teen-drama-flick valediction to a long-gone beau ripped straight from the Thompson Twins' songbook (Say Goodbye). The rest of the album, while entertaining, is comparable to Chinese Food; delicious and satisfying while hot but not terribly filling.

While being herself on her debut poised Ashlee Simpson with a certain unapologetic swagger and attitude that made her somewhat fresh and entertaining, I Am Me reminds us just how disposable she is and that this time, being herself just may not be enough.