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FOLKLORE
Nelly Furtado
(DreamWorks/Universal)
"I am not a one-trick pony," are the first words Nelly Furtado sings on her second CD Folklore. They are, however, not her last words on the subject. Indeed, the Canadian songbird spends most of her much-anticipated sophomore album striving to prove that she is more than just the flighty pop thrush of I'm Like a Bird.
To that end, she and returning producers Track and Field attempt to expand their palette and push the envelope by incorporating various exotic, ethnic and esoteric sounds and styles into Nelly's bubbly dance-pop songcraft and hip-hop settings.
Some cuts like the title cut come bearing plucky banjos and mandolins or rootsy fiddles and dulcimers; others like Powerless sway to heavily percussive world-beat grooves; most feature lyrics about her heritage, the perils of fame and the joys of new motherhood; a couple contain lyrics sung in Portuguese; one tune, Saturdays, arrives stripped down to just Nelly's acoustic guitar and vocals.
This is not to say Folklore is some sort of intensely personal, anti-commercial vanity project. Quite the opposite, in fact -- tracks like Fresh Off the Boat and Forca are as hook-filled and addictive as her previous hits. But they're also far more individual and distinctive, thanks to Furtado's inspired intermingling of world music elements, contemporary pop and cutting-edge technology.
If that isn't enough to convince naysayers she's no one-trick pony, nothing is.
Track Listing
1. One-Trick Pony
2. Powerless (Say What You Want)
3. Explode
4. Try
5. Fresh Off the Boat
6. Forca
7. Saturdays
8. Picture Perfect
9. The Grass Is Green
10. Build You Up
11. Island of Wonder
12. Childhood Dreams