Skye Sweetnam

Sixteen-year-old Skye Sweetnam's debut sounds more like noise you might hear at the Macy's junior department than noise issuing from anybody's basement. But that's as it should be. Billed as the next Pat Benatar, the pouty-lipped, kohl-eyed Canadian steps out with a solid rocker ringed with a touch of Ramones (hear it on the rebel schoolgirl song "Billy S.," which earned a spot on the How to Deal soundtrack, as well as on the hopped-up, swing-your-hair-around cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass," and the bad-boyfriend basher "Number One"). It's a distillation of all that's right with modern rock--hyper guitars, a heavy dose of the kind of attitude that parents prefer to think of as teen spirit--and girls, the little sisters of Ashlee Simpson fans and those whose love of Hilary Duff is "so yesterday" especially, will slurp it up like it comes in a 64-ounce cup from 7-11. --Tammy La Gorce

2004-09-21 - Capitol