The Way I Am

The credits on Ana Johnsson’s album are, frankly, scary — “The Way I Am” featuring production by Roxette’s ex-guitarist and song writing by tunesmiths who’ve manufactured hits for likes of Britney, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and Celine Dion. Not exactly what you’re expecting from a rock chick billed as Sweden’s answer to Avril Lavigne.

But it’s not all bad news.

The 27-year-old Swede isn’t just another sappy pop princess with blonde tresses — she actually rocks, even though it’s more Lavigne than Love. This is uncomplicated pop-rock with huge infectious choruses and note-perfect production courtesy of those behind-the-scenes hit makers.

Remember “We Are”? With its wall of seamless instrumentation (driving guitars, flourishes of strings and keyboards); powerful vocals with a slight rasp; and chorus assembled to create world domination, the theme tune from “Spiderman 2” is the template for the rest of Johnsson’s debut — inoffensive rock with a generous sugar coating a la the most recent Def Leppard and Bon Jovi offerings.

So “Don’t Cry For Pain”, co-written by Johnsson and Max Martin, the man who unleashed “…Baby One More Time” on an unsuspecting world, repeats the formula — albeit very successfully. The land that brought us Abba certainly knows a thing or two about making music for the masses.

Martin’s touch reappears on one of the album’s heaviest offerings, “I’m Stupid”, an unrelenting anthem in the vein of “It’s My Life” assembled to cause mass arm waving at stadiums around the world.

“Six Feet Under”, while lowering the intensity a little, continues the trend and is actually pretty damn good — if you can get past the guitar solo stolen from Roxette.

Pity that Johnsson didn’t write the song, though. Despite having a hand in most of the songs on offer, she’s relied on the hitmakers-for-hire for the assault on the charts.

This doesn’t mean that her songs are the stuff of nightmares — rather they seem to become indistinguishable from each other. And that’s the album’s major flaw. There’s very limited variety in the instrumentation (despite a brief sitar appearance on “Crest of the Wave” and woohoo backing vocals on "L.A.") and mood of the songs (most, obviously, all about girl power) which has the tendency to turn “The Way I Am” into one long 40 minute song rather than 11 individual pop offerings.

There’s the occasional slowing down and transformation into innocent little girl pre-slut-Britney mode (“’Coz I Can”) but it’s not enough to shake things up.

With an increased variety and lower gloss quotient, Avril Lavigne’s “Under My Skin” kicks this record’s ass in a straight cat fight.