Clean win for soap star

If you've listened to the radio or watched MuchMusic lately, you probably already know Natalie Imbruglia.. and the 'g' is silent. She's the one with the incessantly pleasant single Torn.
 
Hot on the heels of Torn's amazing success -- the single sold over 1,000,000 copies in the UK alone -- young Ms. Imbruglia (she's only 23) has released a collection of songs called Left of the Middle out now on RCA/BMG.
 
Of the 12 tracks on the album, only Torn reaches the sugary-pop plateau that makes it such an accessible song. That's not to say the rest of the album is rubbish -- far from it, in fact.
 
Imbruglia has crafted a number of rocky pop songs that the media is terming 'adult pop'. Songs based around the ideas of relationships, isolation and general melancholy.
 
This may come as a surprise, especially when her past comes into play. She used to star in the Aussie soap "Neighbours" -- also known as the starting place for other pop sensations Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Craig McLachlan, Stefan Dennis, and The Blakeney Twins (Gillian and Gayle).
 
Where her former co-horts all played the safe, chart-friendly bubblegum pop game (to a moderate level of success), Imbruglia has decided to go about her music career in such a way that respect won't be too difficult to attain.
 
After leaving Neighbours in 1995, Imbruglia eventually teamed up with Phil Thornally (ex of the Cure) and began assembling the songs that would eventually become Left of the Middle. In fact, the only song not co-written by Imbruglia is the debut single, Torn. This caused some unneccessary controversy recently in the UK.
 
All in all, Imbruglia has assembled a hefty collection of hard hitting tunes. If you're a fan of straightforward rock, this album will suit your tastes fine. Stand-out cuts like the isolationist City -- which has the memorable chorus: "Anybody heading in my direction/ Away from the City" -- the Portishead-ish Leave Me Alone or current single Big Mistake are proof enough that name Natalie Imbruglia will soon be associated with the big league.

Track Listing 1. Torn (4.04) 2. One more addiction (3.30) 3. Big Mistake (4.32) 4. Leave me alone (4.21) 5. Intuition (3.22) 6. Smoke (4.37) 7. Pigeons and crumbs (5.21) 8. Don't you think? (3.55) 9. Impressed (4.47) 10. Wishing you were there (3.52) 11. City (4.33) 12. Left of the Middle (3.46)		Album rating