Vitamin C is having an identity crisis. The adopted moniker and the neon hair are gimmicks that get her played on MTV and into the national consciousness, but the matter of her latest album, "More," seems to reflect a direct, no-nonsense girl. "More" is the album of a somewhat talented young singer-songwriter who is desperately squeezing herself into the pop mold.
Nowhere is the division between "Vitamin C" and her own self more apparent than in the production notes after each song. A team that includes Colleen Fitzpatrick, her given name, writes most of the songs. The credit for backing vocals, however, invariably goes to Vitamin C. Why Fitzpatrick would not want obvious credit for songwriting is a mystery in an industry where she could stand out from the rest of the singing, dancing androids.
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Fitzpatrick's songwriting skills, as unique as they may be for her target audience, still leave much to be desired. She is quite adept at naming songs with such clear and self-explanatory titles as "Sex Has Come Between Us," "Busted" and "I Can't Say No" that you hardly have to listen to the songs themselves. Her vocals are refreshingly devoid of any attempt at emoting; her limited range lends itself well to the layered effects and computer enhancements that pepper the album.
The strengths of "More" may have nothing to do with Fitzpatrick's songwriting in the least. Innovative, sparse electronica forms the backbone of the album. The accompaniment sounds dangerously close to Pac-man sound effects only once, during "Busted." Despite the inventive quality of the production, the reined-in effects perhaps only detract from the quality in the end; any song off the album would sound tinny next to the production extravaganza that is Britney Spears's "Crazy."
Not surprisingly, Vitamin C does best with the relaxed mid-tempo songs which come closest to her first hit, "Graduation (Friends Forever)." "She Talks About Love," the story of a hopeless dreamer in a cynical world, is almost touching. To her credit, Vitamin C stays away from the mushy love song (with the exception of "As Long As You're Loving Me," which she did not write), choosing instead to celebrate the empowerment of women. "More" shows her eager to take on the world and let none of it take anything away from her.
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There is one howler on the album. "I Know What Boys Like" should have died a quick death even before it became a minor hit for The Waitresses in the mid-80s. Why Vitamin C chooses to resurrect this painfully irksome tune is a completely baffling unknown. Why she then proceeds to give it the keynote position in the middle of the album is equally mindboggling.
When "More" strays from its techno hip-hop center, it falters again. "Where's the Party" features a guitar-heavy, cumbersome chorus and unusually whiny vocals. Where the other songs shimmer over spare syncopated backbeats and simple singing, "Where's the Party" loses itself in its attempt on more conventional pop songwriting.
The struggle between convention and exploration is apparent throughout "More." Vitamin C, Colleen Fitzpatrick or whoever is pulling the strings seems undecided as to whether she is going to take advantage of what makes her special in the pop music world, or simply capitalize on the usual pretty face and shiny production combinations that make singers famous nowadays. "More" has a voice. Song titles indicate a "Dangerous Girl" who knows what boys like and also knows a secret about pop music: Different is good, but too different is very bad. Someday, if we get to see Colleen Fitzpatrick without the trappings of Vitamin C, perhaps we will see a promising young artist who likes to explore techno as colorful as her hair. Until then, however, "More" is just that - more of the same.
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