Kiss & Tell

Selena Gomez's first album under her own name will please the fans she's won as TV star and vocalist on various Disney-based projects, it will also make lovers of frothy, fun pop music very happy too. KISS & TELL is a work of near-genius modern pop that shows off Gomez's light but surprisingly soulful vocals in a perfect setting. The producers and writing teams involved frame Gomez as a tougher, sassier version of the usual 'tween pop singer and keep the sappy ballads to a bare minimum. Instead there are plenty of songs that have her telling off lame boyfriends, tracks that joyously detail new found love affairs, and quite a few that generally rock out in a manner that might surprise a few people. Indeed, the variety of styles and sounds on the record is pretty impressive. Snappy bursts of punky pop bump up against Latin-influenced dance jams, bubblegum mid-tempo ballads sit easily next to spunky new wave rockers, techno-y dance floor stompers lead into hopeful love songs and Gomez is at home singing all of them. She sounds like she could leave the whole pop star world behind and join an emo-pop band on songs like "Crush" and "I Won't Apologize." Alternatively, she could completely embrace the pop star world and top the charts with sweetly sincere and ultra-hooky songs like "I Promise" or frothy trifles like "As a Blonde." Probably the best idea for the future is for Gomez to keep making records as diverse and well constructed as KISS & TELL, keeping the same producers and songwriters on board and maintaining the same smart and sassy attitude she displays throughout.