Lindsay Smith
Were You Prom Queen?
Self-Released
Grade: DIn the opening lines of Lindsay Smith's new album Were You Prom Queen? she seems to be tone deaf. A little tingle went up my spine, I cringed and thought to myself, "who told this girl that she could sing?" Obviously, no one did since she self-produced her own album, and it's not a surprise that no major label has picked her up yet. While her singing gets a little better as the album progresses, the lyrics are trite and the songs drone on to the point of annoyance.

The most memorable moment is the song "I Don't Like Drinking." The song starts off with "I don't like drinking, but it keeps my mind off you/I don't like drinking but it's one thing I can do." The lyrics once again can be described as dull and uninspired. Her vocals only make the song more unbearable. She reverts back into her tone deaf voice which she had come out of for a few tracks.

The fumbling songs continue. In "The Ersatz Bluegrass Band," Smith sings about how she does not know what bluegrass is and that becomes quite obvious. Someone should tell her that adding a banjo to a song doesn't make it bluegrass. It's quite clear that she's trying to make this song sound at least reminiscent of bluegrass, but it just sounds like a folk song with banjo.

Another noticeable trait of this album is Smith's movement between two moods. In some songs it appears she's attempting to be an innocent, love-struck girl. In others, she tries to put on the moody, emotive voice, but those are the songs that are most painful to the listener's ears. Her painfully off-key sound is reminiscent of American Idol rejects. If she plans to continue making music she should definitely stick with the innocent voice, as she is obviously more comfortable using it.

Smith's guitar playing is about as uninspired as her lyrics. The solos aren't very impressive either. The songs run together and sound very similar, which makes each droning song more boring than the next and places each innocent song on the verge of killing the listener with clichs.

For the listener who actually makes it to the end of the album, there's a 14th hidden message track, which Smith makes you wait 10 minutes for. I don't know why one would bother after this disaster album.
A voice similar to that of a circus announcer bombards the listener's ears with the message, "Thank you for purchasing or stealing this CD by Lindsay Smith..." The announcer continues on with his silly message and drags out Lindsay Smith's name every time he says it.

Finally, he finishes with the quip, "I'm speaking through pantyhose." In a last-ditch effort to be clever or funny, Smith just falls flat on her face. This "special" message make absolutely no sense and only serves to end the album with a big disappointment.

Lindsay Smith's new album is a bore and at best is a sad excuse for a folk album and a sorry attempt at being versatile. Don't even think about buying this album.