(Manatee Records)

www.kelleyryan.net

As the former front woman for the astroPuppees, Kelly Ryan's dance card hasn't had much demand up until now. And yet, with this first solo outing, she's made a perfect pop album that even those with far more seasoned resume would probably take pride in calling their own.  It's tempting to credit producer Don Dixon (who, along with wife Marti Jones and longtime percussion foil Jim Brock, plays on the record) for this achievement, and indeed, Dixon's track record certainly lends credence to any effort that can claim his talents.  However, it's Ryan's songs that seize the spotlight from the get-go, their ready hooks and catchy melodies making a formidable impression that lingers long after.  While she resists the temptation to get too heady, that doesn't mean she's not profound. "I'm never going to get your love/You're never going to get mine," she sighs on "Bleeding a Girl," a bittersweet ballad that laments the inevitable disappointment accompanying a failed love affair. 

Still, it's the chirpier entries that provide more obvious examples of Ryan's radiant charms - be it the breezy "Key To My Heart" -- which borrows its refrain from the old R&B chestnut, "Baby, Now That I've Found You" -- the lilting, yet uplifting "The Speaks," or the enticing opener "About A Girl." Ryan taps her rhythms as a gentle drift, a tact that finds her methods seductive and alluring yet rarely threatening.  Or, as she confides on "Heart and Bone," "I'm as cool as the middle of a concrete floor." Clearly, she has no qualms about claiming any place that can shelter her soft caress.

Standout Tracks: "About a Girl,: "The Lady's Daughter," Bleeding A Girl" LEE ZIMMERMAN