A Cheap and Evil Girl
Based on the hit single "David Duchovny," it's tempting to dismissA Cheap and Evil Girlas novelty album. Sharp humorously confesses her infatuation with theX-Fileshottie, singing "Sitting like a mindless clone / Waiting for him to tap my phone," later adding, "I'm sweet and I'm cuddly / I'm gonna kill Scully." "David Duchovny," however, is merely an over-the-top introduction to an album loaded with intelligent and poetic songs, some as heartbreaking as others are hilarious. Sharp's quavering vocals thread the virulent tendencies of theThrowing MusesandSleater-Kinneytogether with the irreverent sass of theB-52s'Kate Pierson. As a songwriter, her musical narratives are bolstered by lo-fi production and rock arrangements that are simultaneously daring and delicate. Think of her as the femaleRobyn Hitchcock. Like a lively conversation cut short,A Cheap and Evil Girlleaves you yearning to hear more.--Beth Massa