The Veronicas kind of look like the Olsen twins and sort of sing like Ashlee Simpson.
The 20-year-old identical twins from Australia released their debut album "The Secret Life Of…" on Valentine's Day.
It sounds like the soundtrack to a mall during the winter holiday shopping season — teenage girls gossiping and the stomps of shoppers running toward a sale.
With the debut album, it's obvious the girls are trying to fit into the world of terrible, trendy musicianship — Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, the glamorized Jewel, Ryan Cabrera or, more generally, what MTV is shoveling down the throats of American youth.
Neither one of the twins is named Veronica — they're Jess and Lisa Origliasso. It was no doubt a good idea for the girls to go by The Veronicas, since it would probably be too hard for any TRL host to pronounce "The Origliassos." Plus, The Veronicas just sounds sexier.
Jess and Lisa don't sing that well and don't write prolific lyrics — the little lyrics they do actually compose, that is — but do look ultra hot on the CD jacket. They've got lusciously pouty lips, sincere big eyes and curves like whoa — times two.
The Veronicas' album is much easier to look at than listen to, which seems to be the case with most pop stars these days.
What's most unfortunate about this album is that the Origliasso twins, who have been singing and performing since they were 5, don't appear to have much input on "The Secret Life Of…"
Instead, the Sire Records label seems to have hired a small army of pop song composers — including Billy Steinberg (Madonna), Clif Magness (Avril Lavigne) and Rick Nowels (Dido).
Why don't these "hit makers" write and compose stuff for themselves and let the Origliasso twins write their own stuff?
This album is proving the point that the music industry has become a corporate machine rather than artistic expression. It's sad. No one wants to stand up for their own voice anymore.
The saddest thing is if the Origliasso twins actually went out and made their own album — writing all the songs and playing instruments — it probably wouldn't have gotten picked up by a major label. The girls would have had to deal with years of rejection before they could make a record on a major label.
"The Secret Life Of…" is a catchy album, but is overproduced and lacks a single artistic vision. Instead, it's a hodgepodge of what "hit makers" think The Veronicas should sound like — and that is shallow, flirty teenage girls.
