*** of ****
Young Tennessee ingenue Hope Partlow is part of a new breed of young country starlets who blur the lines between country and bubblegum pop. But what Hope Partlow does on Who We Are is separate herself from the rest of the pact: sounding like a huskier Norah Jones, singing better lyrics than country music should have and having better sounding songs than fellow country cross-over singer Leann Rhimes could ever put out.
On the opening title track and it’s more dance-friendly remix, Hope sings: “I don’t want to put on my make-up/Just like every girl in the magazines” distancing herself immediately from the other photo-craved pop stars. A simple melody and slightly over-ambitious message makes the song blend in with the rest of the Avril-wannabe teen pop, but it’s a good sing-along no less.
A wooden trip-hop beat and violins save “It’s Too Late,” an otherwise maudlin song, from ballad overkill, thanks to Hope’s basic but heart-felt lyrics: “It’s too late to regret because you’ve already left/It’s too late to hold on because you’re already gone/I don’t know how I will carry on.”
On “Cold,” throbbing bass and skipping string arrangements infuse life into Hope’s observations of her man’s lack of love: “It’s getting cold in here baby/I don’t know what went wrong/But I think you’re letting go.” While, on “Through It All,” Hope apologizes for having blonde moments, but knows her guy will still forgive her: “I get distracted, but I’ll always be your girl/If you always take me as I am/Somehow you’ll understand.”
Pulsating guitars make the pseudo-rock “Everywhere But Here” come alive, especially with Hope’s biting, forward lyrics: “It’s the last time I’m waiting by the phone/It’s been a lonely love with you/You don’t know what you’ve been missing/You should’ve been kissing me.”
Who We Are ends up sounding like a hodge-podge of high-grade country pop. Hope’s impressive songwriting skills and pretty melodies save most of the songs on the album from drifting into the boring bustle of most other young pop stars who haven’t decided if it’s country or pop they’re more interested in. With Who We Are, Hope’s content to dabble in a little bit of both for right now, and so are we.