Fridae

She's three parts vodka and one part orange juice served in a highball glass�sweet and innocent on it's own but a real knockout screwdriver after a few sips.

Although Avril Lavigne looks just like one of countless self-proclaimed pop "divettes" out there, this 17-year-old electric guitar-playing skater chick is not the typical Britney, Jessica, or Mandy. She shows her cleavage only when required, prefers wearing baseball caps, and hangs out with her own punk band of boys: "I was always a tomboy and I guess I still am. I played hockey during the fall and baseball in the summer. I loved playing with the boys."

At first listen, Avril sounds like Michelle Branch on amphetamines, or a less narcissistic and a more juvenile Alanis Morissette�her Canadian counterpart (and yes, she too pronounces "about" as "aboot"). "I couldn't go as alternative on this record as I wanted to, but I just didn't want to be bubblegum pop."

Don't let her first single Complicated fool you though. That's about as "bubblegum" as she gets on Let Go. The potent opening track, Losing Grip, and the adrenaline-charged Unwanted bear testament to the fact that her debut single was just a radio-friendly way of saying "come check me out so I can show you how nasty I can get".

Not to say that she needs anger management classes though. Her softer side is revealed, among others, in I'm With You, a ballad that starts with clear Lisa Loeb-ish vocals and progresses to Alanis-like wails, and in Tomorrow, which she sings about uncertainties in love and life.

To put it in a nutshell, Let Go is a classic rock record sans the maturity of an experienced rock artist. However, taking into account her age (and her target audience), this is hardly an issue. Juvenile lyrics like "He was a boi / She was a girl" in Sk8er Boi and "You chose weed over me / You're so lame" in Too Much To Ask seem silly, but no one really buys a rock record by a 17-year-old and expects spiritual enlightenment.

When asked how she describes herself, her words of wisdom are: "I would describe my music as Avril Lavigne�all you're gonna get is who I am". Now how can anyone not love her?