aniel Bedingfield scored a rather large hit last year with his home-recorded pop single “Gotta Get Thru This”. This catchy ditty with Backstreet Boys vocals and club thumpability spread like wildfire. The success of this song motivated singer/songwriter Daniel Bedingfield to record his first album.

“Gotta Get Thru This” appears on this album, rerecorded from the single version. Unfortunately, this version lacks much of the punch of the original. The album version favors the high end of Bedingfield’s vocal range. The form of the song is also changed; it seems to spotlight the fact that it is little more than those four words repeated above a not-that-impressive-after-all garage beat.

There are a few awesome songs that deliver where the title track’s disappointing edit fail. “James Dean (I Wanna Know)” brings the explosive bombast along with some killer voice talent, Bedingfield builds to a whine/scream, “If she can’t see the man inside, then why’s it worth it?” he asks of us. Good point, Daniel. As simple as some of these lyrics seem, they work well, considering this is some guy emoting into a laptop.

Similarly, “I Can’t Read You” bursts with a sort of frustrated glee. Bedingfield addresses a relationship in which communication is not possible (at least for the male): “I can’t read you, I wish I knew what was going through your head”. Maybe he’s legitimately challenged, maybe this girl is a hassle; then again, maybe he is just a weakling. Anyway, it makes for an interesting character study.

Several of the songs on this album fall victim to a certain blandness. In his constant ruminations over girls, he continually mentions faithfulness and yearning, not particularly valued virtues in pop music. Maybe there’s a certain demographic that prefers chaste young males, hopefully they prefer all of the blandness that comes with song after song about abstinence. Who can resist a lyric like “if we wait till later, it’ll be better”? Seriously, Daniel. We want pop music, not public service announcements.

The bonus track, an acoustic version of “Gotta Get Thru This” closes the album on a high note. This take accomplishes all of the texture and thickness as the original, but with a more human tone. It is here that Bedingfield’s lyrics come across as more of a manifesto and less of a helpless plea.

It is when Bedingfield keeps his pop hat on that this album works. The bouncier, ambivalent songs work as great no-brainer pop songs. When Bedingfield wastes entire songs spraying his innocence and naïveté all over the place, things get a bit embarrassing.