Britain's Lily Allen Brings Her 'Smile' to This Shore

In the music video for Lily Allen's song "LDN," the 21-year-old British singer is shopping for something very specific in a record store. She asks the clerks if they have anything that combines punk, electronica, grime, dub, soul, early hip-hop and drum 'n' bass. They look at her as though she's crazy. Clearly, it doesn't exist. So with her debut record, Allen has attempted to will that sound into existence.

Buzz around Allen started a year ago, when songs posted on her MySpace page started nabbing thousands of plays. She has since become a celebrated pop star offline in her homeland, with a platinum debut record, "Alright, Still," that is just now being released stateside.

Allen's first hit single, "Smile," is a bubbly, mid-tempo tune with a barroom piano lick, subdued horns and a reggae beat. Allen, however, is in a vengeful mood -- she's just broken up with her cheating boyfriend, who's now begging for forgiveness. "At worst / I feel bad for a while," she sings in a light falsetto. "But then I just smile / I go ahead and smile."

These contrasts between peppy melodies and brassy lyrics are at the heart of Allen's music. The jubilant mix of electro-beats and breezy calypso on "LDN" recalls Harry Belafonte's 1956 hit "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)." But as Allen closely observes her home town ("LDN" is text-message shorthand for London), she notices the seedier side of metro life, from an abusive pimp to a boy who mugs an old lady of her jewelry and wallet. Nevertheless, Allen remains smitten: "Sun is in the sky / Oh why / Oh why / Would I wanna be anywhere else?"

Allen writes like a teenage diarist; she's wordy, egocentric and all over the place emotionally. That personality is best captured on "Everything's Just Wonderful," where she bemoans not being able to afford a flat and wanting to eat spaghetti "for days and days and days." Combined with rich production values, a Muzak-inspired sample and Allen's multi-tracked vocals, it's the best cut on the record.

Though she's a star in the United Kingdom, it's difficult imagining "High School Musical"-loving tween girls warming up to Allen's tunes about crack whores, pot-smoking brothers and declarations that size does matter. But a few tracks do have an American radio-ready quality to them. "Take What You Take" could be a power-pop hit courtesy of Avril Lavigne's hitmakers The Matrix. (Only it sounds deflated.) And "Nan You're a Window Shopper," a track included only on the U.S. release, strives for Fergie's disco-rap but falls flat on its lovely lady bum.

Always dressed in big skirts and high-top sneakers, Allen comes off as a quirky almost-woman who has yet to outgrow adolescence. But that's what makes her persona so refreshing when compared with the hyper-sexuality of such pop stars as Jessica Simpson, Beyonce or Ciara. If "Alright, Still" turns out only to be a cult success here, give Lily Allen some time. She's worth rooting for.

DOWNLOAD THESE: "Smile," "LDN," "Everything's Just Wonderful"