On her debut album, Jessica Simpson's little sister is not anything like her big sis, which I guess is the idea here.

With her dyed, dark brown hair, deeper, scratchy voice and sexier pop-rock sound, the 19-year-old Ashlee is being positioned by the sisters' Svengali-like father as the anti-Jessica.

Too bad it doesn't make for truly memorable music despite the presence of John Shanks (Michelle Branch, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morissette) as producer.

Still, Ashlee's generic pop-rock -- which is basically a more slick, polished version that falls somewhere between the sound of Avril Lavigne or Hilary Duff -- is a lot better than the over-the-top power ballads that Jessica offers up.

Ashlee co-wrote all 12 songs, including the notable rock ballad, Shadow: "She was beautiful, she had everything and more," Ashlee sings on the track. "I was stuck inside someone else's life / And always second best."

And, unlike her virgin-'til-married sister Jessica, Ashlee sings rather provocative lyrics on Lala, one of the album's better songs: "You make me wanna lala in the kitchen, on the floor, I'll be a French maid when I meet you at the door," she screeches.

If the music thing doesn't work out, don't feel too bad for this Simpson. She has both her regular gig on the WB's Seventh Heaven and the new MTV reality series Ashlee to fall back on.

Ultimately, it looks like both Simpson sisters are going to be better known for their television personae than as singers.

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[[+3]] Sunday, July 25, 2004

Simpson's sister's debut forgettable