Underdog Victorious
Underdog Victoriousis the kind of album that makes listeners feel smart. Catchy and upbeat, it connects instantly to spark a Friday-at-five vibe, but it also sinks in deep on several tracks. "Tel Aviv" takes on sex slavery ("I think of my mother / I send her what I can / She thinks I'm a waitress / She's proud I'm a waitress") and the title track hopeless dorkiness, with its fat-kid protagonist, but even the heavy-subject numbers have a way of veering hard toward the lighhearted. Sobule borrows generously fromChicagofor "Cinnamon Park," a throwback stoner anthem that should have been the hit of the summer, and her sleepyheaded schoolgirl voice wins us over in its lovable-kook way as it struggles to keep pace with the kicky "Joey," about a has-been teen queen. Where other "quirky" musicians stagnate or flame out, Sobule only gets stronger.Underdog Victoriousis her triumph-tinged proof that in the gets-better-with-every-album race, she's the rare real deal. --Tammy La Gorce