Novelty can only get you so far. Philadelphia native, 23-year-old Bree Sharp may have garnered a lot of attention with her much-talked about first single "David Duchovny" (a k a Fox Mulder of X-Files fame), but the whole of her debut album A Cheap and Evil Girl proves that Sharp is anything but a novelty.

  Sharp's lyrics contain an edginess on tracks such as the opener "America," an ode to the media-driven society we live in and "Not Your Girl," which deals with stereotypes.

  True to her album title, Sharp's songs deal with a bad girl image. One caught between what society deems "proper" and what the soul yearns for. Evidence of this can be found on songs such as the slower-paced "Smitten" where Sharp sings:

  "You can read me like a trashy book/ I'm barely keeping in these rages/ So far so clean, but I'm torn between;/ See I'm torn between/ These pages, pages."

  Likewise, "Faster, Faster" plays not only a lyrical but melodic tribute to women who ride the Hog. "The leather boots I was born in/ Are tattered, torn out and worn in/ My skin is cracked as the desert ground."

  While her bio places influences on artists like Patti Smith and Patty Griffin, Sharp's vocal quality evokes more of an image of Edie Brickell. Haunting, honest and bridging a mixture of pop, rock and folk. This can best be seen on the track "Fallen," which deals with a loss of faith and explaining the "whys" of the world to a little girl.

  Now that I've proved that A Cheap and Evil Girl contains more complexities, lets get back to that novelty facet. The matter of the fun and frivolous single "David Duchovny," who Sharp describes as the "American Heathcliff, brooding and comely." (Oh, yes. I'll mention that this track while playing homage to the darkly handsome and mysterious actor also acts as a satire for how society treats and idolizes celebrities.) The fact of the matter is, the writing is witty, the melody is catchy and the message easily received.

  Her music may be cutting but there's nothing cheap and evil about Sharp.