By recording her debut album in England, Carlene Carter served notice that despite coming from a legendary American country music family, she intended to make her own way in the biz and establish her own musical identity. So while there's a strong country-rock vibe throughout Carlene Carter, it's filtered through the British pub rock sensibilities of the Rumour, whose members produce, arrange, and play on all of the tracks on this album (with occasional cameo appearances from pub rock icons Graham Parker, Terry Williams, and Nick Lowe). The results of this transatlantic crossbreeding are generally winning, if a little uneven; on a few tracks, it seems as if both Carter and the Rumour are keeping some of their energy in check as they try to feel each other out. For the most part, though, the performances on Carlene Carter are bright and enthusiastic, and the songwriting contributions of Alex Call, Graham Parker, and Carter herself are all quite good, even if their subject matter is generally nothing more complex than love gone wrong. To top it all off, Carter had the good sense to call in at least one family member to help out -- and brother-in-law Rodney Crowell did not disappoint, contributing "Never Together but Close Sometimes," a bouncy rocker that's the album's clear highlight.

The title notwithstanding, this debut from the former Faithless singer is pretty angelic-sounding stuff. You're bound to think of Sin�ad O'Connor, but the comparison is as misleading as it is inevitable. Granted, Dido's ethereal vocals here frequently recall O'Connor; but Dido's...