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Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie Presley

Now What

(Capitol)

It may have taken Lisa Marie Presley 35 years to follow in her father's footsteps, with her 2003 debut To Whom It May Concern, but having tried it once she's clearly got the bug. Anticipating the sentiments of her detractors with the album's title, the style of her sophomore effort relies heavily on collaborator Linda Perry, former lead singer of 4 Non Blondes, and on her own deeply personal lyrics.

Her father aside, Presley has lived a life seemingly tailor-made for scandal rags, including brief marriages to Nicolas Cage and Michael Jackson as well as dabbling in drugs and Scientology. As such, her themes are starkly autobiographical and, at times, darkly vitriolic.

In contrast, the album's sound is largely based on 1980s and 90s mainstream rock, at times recalling the likes of Alannah Myles and Poison. Add Presley's husky vocals into this mix and the result edges towards Sheryl Crow singing Alanis Morissette.

Alternating between brooding rockers and moody ballads, the album has its fair share of highlights, including I'll Figure It Out, Thanx and Shine, a duet with bad-girl rocker Pink, while the production is polished.

Moreover, in light of the fact that she's no stranger to the media's glare, her version of Dirty Laundry - Don Henley's 1982 hit berating TV news journalists - seems an apt, if somewhat contrived, cover.

That Now What is not a ground-breaking reinvention of music as we know it will astonish no one. What does surprise is how well Presley carries it off, suggesting her music career may not be short-lived after all.

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