Music: Selena Gomez & The Scene: When The Sun Goes Down

For the record, I dislike Selena Gomez. I dislike the way she sings, her performances, the fact that she is in a band, and I dont understand the Justin Bieber thing.

Her latest LP, When The Sun Goes Down, was released on June 28th and features Gomez on the cover with a severe bob-haircut, dressed up like a songbird from the 1930s. The artwork is tacky and manufactured, and it highlights the fact that Gomez is yet to really find any remote form of identity on the pop landscape. I mean, who does she think she is? She looks ridiculous.

The album was written by about 20 different people, including tracks from Britney Spears and Katy Perry; and its sad to see only 2 tracks feature Gomez with minor writing credits. We look to another Disney star, Miley Cyrus, who on her 2009 record, Cant Be Tamed, recorded all her own songs as well as a solid cover of Poisons hit Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Similarly, Demi Lovatos latest record Skyscraper has garnered strong critical acclaim. The result: Gomezs album sales quiver by comparison.

Queue the second single from the record, Love You Like A Love Song, and finally she has our attention. I first heard it at a party a couple of weeks ago, when a friends boyfriend hijacked the music. F***ing douchebag. Weeks later, after revisiting the track, I find myself with it stuck on repeat; the simply resonant melody of the verses combined with a beautifully haunting pre-chorus builds up to a chorus that manages to stick. In terms of music, Gomez delivers a perfectly capable pop record, and her vocals are substantial as she laments It feels like Ive been rescued, Ive been set free.

The rest of the record doesnt deserve much mention, and as much as I wish there was a redeeming piano ballad on the tail end of When The Sun Goes Down to satisfy my guilty, Adele-loving gay-boy music tastes, there is no such luck.

The short of it: I could learn to love Selena Gomez. That sa! id, girl has got some serious work to do before anyone starts to take notice. The album gets 4/10.