This Is Me

Jully Black, after more than a decade of struggle to break into the music industry, finally made a dent with This Is Me. As stated during the into, outro, and, well, the title, This Is Me is meant to be a personal record, one that reflects an inner Jully, the "real" side of her. Ultimately, it fails. This Is Me does bear the mark of Black, as she is credited as a writer on every track; however some tracks have up to six writers on them, which makes it seem as though her presence is ghostly. In addition, the album doesn't sparkle; This Is Me is bland R&B even in its stronger moments. There is no artistic showing on this album. Black sings fine, but even her vocals are dull and uninspiring. In a time period when R&B is all about the retro and samples and guest vocalists, Black remains stuck in a no-man's land singing about nothing, really. At its best moments — "Sweat of Your Brow," a mildly infectious dance track, and "Calling You" — there are tinges of reggae, but not nearly enough to credit Black with trying to put reggae on her album. The better portion of this album is so forgettable, and so insipid and sappy, that it's nearly unlistenable in one sitting. What is the saddest part of the disc, though, is that Black insists that this is her; that this is her as a singer, a person, and an artist. If this is her as an artist, then Black isn't much of an artist at all. There is a smidge of potential that scrapes through, but the casual listener might not even pick up on it and decide to stand by her. Better luck to Jully Black during her next swing at bat.