I Love You

While Blank’s reference-heavy, mix-tape mentality isn’t radical in the current musical climate, it’s often fun in its familiarity.

Amid the sighs and groans, she hits the pop G-spot with her savvy hooks and superlative rhyming.

It's the challenge of hearing Amanda claw her way through relentless electro barrages in an effort to deliver her heartfelt lyrics, that makes tracks like 'DJ' or the melancholy 'Leaving You Behind' (which is assisted by Lykke Li's haunting vocals) some of the most unexpectedly personable material to come out of Diplo's party-centric clique.

So yeah: good debut, if a bit short.

Blank is a product of the cut-and-paste era; nearly everything on I Love You, which arrives in the wake of several buzz-building collaborations with Spank Rock, seems like a tongue-in-cheek version of something else.

Unfortunately, despite a few great tracks and plenty of pounding productions, Blank hits a lot of familiar notes.

On an album where she's surrounded by dudes (including her pal Spank Rock), she makes being ladylike sound hardcore.

When she strays into pop territory, her lyrics and vocals remind us of electroclash’s cheesiest moments. When she keeps it raw and downtempo, real talent shines through.

It's the songs on which she distances herself from that occasionally tiresome persona where she really shines. [Aug 2009, p.94]

Filthy Philly rapstress ropes in famous mates, but falls short of rap superstardom.

Hey, if the Spank Rock and M.I.A. collaborator wants to two-step around in just a tank top, rude bits to the wind, that’s her prerogative--but there are consequences, and that’s where I Love You struggles.

Blank by the numbers, blank’s the result.

Her new album does nothing new--we've been here before.

Though Blank's album is full of hits and misses, it's rarely dull. [Aug 2009, p.103]

The album isn’t just undone by Blank’s well-worn playbook of sexualized shtick, however; the tiresome music is just an egregious.