Still, Better Than Vegemite

She may sound like an Australian Cyndi Lauper singing Dolly Parton covers, but Kasey Chambers is actually an Australian Shawn Colvin who writes and sings her own countrified material. Chambers' serviceable songwriting and unusual, young-beyond-her-years voice are the central components of Wayward Angel, and while the album's adult alternative-oriented production touches (courtesy of Chambers' older brother Nash) may make Wayward Angel's rural waters a bit more navigable for the erstwhile Lilith Fair crowd, there just aren't enough quality songs to facilitate its delivery from the purgatory of mediocrity. Cuts such as the banjo-inflected title track and the lovely solo piano ballad "Paper Aeroplane" succeed because Chambers tones down her vocal affectations; on the other hand, the album's opening pair of tracks, "Pony" and "Hollywood," fall prey to more than a few wince-worthy moments that emanate from Chambers' vocal mic. And if the rich, true-to-form bluegrass workout "Follow You Home" can't rescue Wayward Angel's decidedly unmemorable aim, nothing can.