Esthero

by John Vettese

pop/electronic/hip-hop

Not even a second into her new record and one-time trip-hop diva Esthero is coming off like a woman with major beef. "I'm so sick and tired of the shit on the radio," she hollers. "And MTV, they only play the same thing/ no matter where I go, I see Ashanti in the video/ I want something more." Strong words, but they're little more than a rallying cry for suckers since the song, "We R in Need of a Musical Revolution," with its bumping beats and canned keyboard tracks, turns out to be an insipid piece of overglossed glitz not unlike the shit the singer calls to task. It's easy enough to shove the "let the one without sin cast the first stone" adage in her face, or to pine for the hip, jazzy tones of 1998's Breath From Another. But really, why would she stage a comeback after seven years when the style she broke ground on is more or less dead? Esthero might be better served if we told her to stop worrying and learn to love the pop. After all, aside from a few painful moments of white-girl slam poetry, the new Wikked Lil' Grrrls (Reprise) is a solid set of smart tunes that wouldn't be out of place on heavy-rotation stations. The salsa shuffle of "Blanket Me in You" gives way to a shimmery harmonized hook, and "If Tha Mood" lays down a clubby groove while spotlighting little-known Canadian MC Shakari Nyte. She even slips in hints of her previously eclectic style on the piano jangle of "Melancholy Melody," even though it's downplayed tremendously, making the album seem even more like an anti-bid for TRL. In that sense, it's not exactly the stuff of revolutions, but it's good. Grrrls plays the game, sure, but it's strides ahead of most of the mainstream Esthero apparently finds so frustrating. Then again, maybe that's exactly what her revolution is.

Tue., July 26, 8 p.m., $12-$14, Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, www.theateroflivingarts.net.