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BUY THE CD
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Singer/songwriter Renee Cologne traded in her loft in Hoboken for a house in the suburbs—complete with a mop and a shiny new washer and dryer. And, if her album’s title is any indication, she’s pretty proud to be a Rock & Roll Housewife.
Trained in opera and jazz and known for holding down gigs like touring with Meatloaf as his backup singer, Cologne has a rich, Sheryl Crow-like voice and a mischievous style. And her latest album includes everything from sincere songs about love to devilish lyrics about the sales guy at Sears and not-so-steamy affairs. It’s an album full of playful, sultry, electronic pop music that experiments with all kinds of different sounds and different harmonies.
When I first started listening to Rock & Roll Housewife, I couldn’t help but love it. I was actually on my own housewifely journey at the time, cruising from my suburban home to the grocery store in my baby SUV. And I instantly fell in love with the first track, “Know I Said.” The lighthearted and ridiculously catchy song finds Cologne appliance shopping at Sears. But it’s more than just a fun song. The vocals are solid, and the harmonies are gorgeous. The second track, “Housewife,” is smokier, with a little more grit. And “Say She Sucks” is another catchy track that perfectly portrays the back-stabbing snarkiness of the suburban housewife. With lines like, “Though you’re sad to see her go, she was a psycho,” it’s the perfect Desperate Housewives kind of track.
The middle section of the album, however, isn’t quite as strong—and the musical experiments don’t go quite as well. Musically, the album’s low point is probably “Essence is Good,” a strange track with gravelly (and just a little bit creepy) background vocals. And the lyrics in the middle section lack the previous songs’ mischievous is-she-or-isn’t-she subtlety, and the teasing playfulness occasionally crosses the line into dirty-old-housewife. They’re not really the kind of songs that you’d want to be listening to while toting the kids off to soccer practice—because you’d probably have some explaining to do later. And parts of it are sure to shock more mild-mannered soccer moms (even those who take time out to watch All My Children every afternoon).
Fortunately, though, the album does end on a high note, with three strong, dramatic final tracks before Cologne packs up her mop and heads home.
As a whole, Rock & Roll Housewife is a musical cocktail party. It offers a little bit of mischief for grocery-getting housewives. It’s got some great moments—some solid vocals, catchy choruses, and playful lyrics. But some parts of the album are better than others. And, to put it simply for those of you who faithfully watch Desperate Housewives, it’s definitely more of an Edie Britt kind of album than a Bree Van De Camp kind of album.
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