Of all the teen Disney actresses turned singers of the late 2000s, Selena Gomez seemed like she would've the least bit of success. Sure she had an easy-to-market image like Miley or Demi, but her voice wasn't all that distinctive, nor was her music that much different than her competition. Her debut "Kiss & Tell" barely cracked the top ten upon its release (in comparison, Miley and Demi both reached the top of the charts with their first albums), however, it proved that Selena might have some staying power--"Kiss & Tell" ended up charting longer than either "Breakout" or "Don't Forget". So, to capitalize on this surprising success, Selena's team decided it was time for the follow-up, one that was more measured, more assured than her sometimes naive debut. That's the story with all sophomore albums, and "A Year Without Rain" certainly fits the bill. Actually, just looking at the album jackets give this shift away: whereas "Kiss & Tell" featured many photos of a punk-princess Selena, "A Year Without Rain" portrays her as a shiny, state-of-the-art dance artist that's decidedly more mature than she was a year ago. Nothing says grown up quite like having Toby Gad produce two tracks while RedOne helms another. And while Demi was the cornerstone for Selena's debut, now her rival Miley is the touchstone for "A Year Without Rain". However, besides these notable differences, the end product doesn't really change Selena's sound that much at all. Her voice still hasn't gotten any better, and while the drums and guitars were able to drown it out on her debut, this record isn't as forgiving. Tearing a page liberally from Miley's electro-pop makeover with "Can't Be Tamed", most of the tracks here alter Selena's voice with various vocoders and processors, which in turn make her flat and distorted. This is nowhere more apparent than in "Spotlight", a dance number that is catchy, but also has Selena's vocals cipher at the ears with all the comfort of a tooth pick. Also around is Gomez's tendency to strive for notes she can't quite reach, which is bearable in the lovely title track, but also a detractor in the aforementioned "Spotlight". The over-use of auto-tune is also another hindering factor, as it really doesn't do any song justice, not even when Eric Bellinger drops by and assists in "Intuition". Predictably, the best cuts on "A Year Without Rain" are the songs that rely more on sound than Selena, such as the Rock Mafia produced "Off the Chain" and the frothy, fun closer "Live Like There's No Tomorrow". The latter track suggests the biggest problem with this record as a whole: Selena may be working with some different collaborators and exploring new territory, but her desire to make a hot dance record like "Can't Be Tamed" is often heavy handed, because of the simple fact that this record takes itself far too seriously. True, the ballads are stronger and there are some killer dance tracks on occasion (RedOne breathes much needed life into the new-wave "Summer's Not Hot"), but "A Year Without Rain" is too somber to really get the adrenaline pumping like her last album. There's a big difference between excellence and ambition, and Selena has her strength in the latter, with only proves that she has potential. Now the question is, where will she go from here?
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Round and Round 2. A Year Without Rain 3. Rock God
4. Off the Chain 5. Summer’s Not Hot 6. Intuition
7. Spotlight 8. Ghost of You 9. Sick of You
10. Live Like There’s No Tomorrow
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