October 05, 2006 @ 9:00 am

Fergie - The Dutchess (Will.i.am Music Group/A&M)

by: Jonah Weiner

right Among multiplatinum singers, she’s an arrestingly weird interloper, willing to turn herself into a goofy cartoon coquette while her contemporaries prefer outsize, self-serious poses. When the Black Eyed Peas’ eye candy nails it—as she does about half the time on her genre-jumbling solo debut—the result is strange pop that successfully blurs the thin line between annoying and alluring. Take the boom-bap funk romp “London Bridge,” which sneaks ambient lewdness inside an irresistible, nonsensical hook. But irresistible nonsense is Fergie’s forte, whether she’s saluting J.J. Fad’s pop rap on the superbly titled “Fergalicious” or cooing over Casio beeps and Little Richard samples on “Clumsy,” a fantastic will.i.am-produced swoon. Solo albums are places to grow, though, and so Fergie tries, with varying degrees of success, to put her humps behind her on several tracks, the worst of which is a ponderously literal, follow-your-destiny popera, “Finally.” The oddest is “Voodoo Doll,” where she explores her struggles with crystal meth...over ska-pop...in a fake Jamaican accent. The only thing saving it from flat-out unlistenability is its preposterousness—the less sense in Fergie’s sensibility, the better. Do you want VIBE delivered to your home or office? CLICK HERE.

Article tags: Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, London Bridge, The Dutchess, Will.i.am 

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