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Well, after making the craftiest of pop hits and selling 6 million albums, Kelly Clarkson is back...and damn, she actually delivers with My December. If there's one thing that truly sets out this album in spades is how many different directions Clarkson really goes. There's a Pat Benatar-style scorn piece in "Haunted". There's a remorseful Alanis Morissette-style ("Perfect" Alanis, not WILL SHE GO DOWN ON YOU IN A THEEEEEEEATRE!? Alanis) song in "Sober". Even "Irvine" and "Be Still" are her cracks at the style of a stripped down act like Iron and Wine. (Yes, I just compared Kelly Clarkson to Sam Beam.) Hell, "Hole" sounds like what would've happened if Kelly was the vocalist for Muse on "Hyper Music".

Of all the tracks and the personal nature of the CD, I don't think any of it really comes off as overwrought at all. It does have the tendency to repeat itself, but it's hardly an album that gets boring. In fact, only "How I Feel" comes off as a track that should've been cut. This is a really gushing review, I'll admit, but this is the type of album that made 90s singer-songwriters so interesting. This is why America like Alanis in the first place. Yes, she was a woman scorned, but she was ultimately an interesting woman in her direction of music and the boundary between her angsty numbers and her "love me" numbers. Ultimately, Clarkson finds that balance as well and works it in spades.

Rating: 8/10
Must Haves: "Irvine", "Never Again", "Sober", "Haunted", "Maybe", "Can I Have A Kiss", "Be Still"

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