As if I have not made it evident in most of my reviews, I strongly believe in the sophomore album curse. How could I not? It's make or break time. Your entire career is riding on this album. You just can't disappoint! If you produce a mediocre second album, the simple truth of the matter is that you will fade out of existence in the music world and never be heard from again. One obvious example of this is B*Witched.

As much as I hate to say it, I really liked B*Witched, to the point where I went and saw them in concert and (as some fellow Epinioners have forced me to unearth) made my screen name B*Witched related. I hope it's forgivable considering I was 14, but there was a point where I actually said the words "B*Witched are the best band ever." *shudders* B*Witched did produce a decent bubblegum album with their debut, but it was hardly anything innovative or fresh, especially in the year of 1999 when albums like theirs were a dime a dozen. I did see a lot of promise in B*Witched though, and if they made a fresh, exciting second album, they could have gone somewhere. Unfortunately, they made Awake and Breathe.

First, let me tell you what good things there are about this album because these moments are pretty rare. Contrary to what some people may say, I think the opener If It Don't Fit is a fun, rockish little song, even if they lyrics are retarded. (The way you're chewing your gum, it wrecks my head. Why don't you bite on these words that I'm saying, baby?) I think Edele Lynch has some intense vocals on this song. Even though she was quite the mic hog in B*Witched, she did have a pretty good and unique voice. The chorus on this song is just dang catchy, and I like it the whole thing, save the stupid lyrics. Jesse Hold On is another good uptempo with stupid lyrics. (You will soon come to see that most of this album is lyrically challenged.) This was the lead single off of this album, and I think it's pretty good in a cheesy kind of way. Twanging banjo, repetitive chorus, cute little plot about a girl going to tell Jesse that she wants to marry him. The harmonies are nice here too. Even if the song is a bit formulaic (there's a really cliche key change thrown in there), it's a good pop song.

There are a few decent ballads on this album as well, most notably Are You A Ghost. This would have been a good song, regardless of who sang it, but B*Witched has some gorgeous harmonies here. Their voices really compliment each other, and this song is really longing and hollow, in a good intentional way. I think this is a fantastic song, and not just for B*Witched. It Was Our Day is a decent song, but it cuts off way too early and is a little bit too cookie cutter. The lyrics talk about the Lynch sisters learning of their grandmother's passing, but it's so generic it hurts. (Before my eyes, there's so many colors, just for today they all seem blue) But it is pretty, and the harmonies are nice and Edele's vocals sound really inspired. I Shall Be There is probably my favorite track on this album. Ladysmith Black Mambazo backs the girls up on the chorus, and the whole thing has an African influence with some banging bongos and some kind of weird wind instrument. Again, the lyrics are hardly anything to write home about (I shall be there. Will you be there?), but the harmonies are tight and Edele's vocal sounds fantastic.

One of the things that B*Witched fans really looked forward to with the release of this album was that it was promised that basically the B*Witched back up singers (think DC3's Survivor album, if you want to know how much Edele hogged the mic.) were going to each sing lead on one song. That wasn't the case, actually, as Keavy Lynch took over two songs, Lindsay Armaou took over one, and poor ol' Sinead O'Carrol got stuck with a b-side. While this was an exciting prospect, it's a real shame that the girls got stuck with shit for material. Keavy takes it solo on Leaves, an extremely bland number which B*Witched described as "electronica." Yeah, it's about as electronic as running bathwater. Actually, that's about how exciting this song is too. And, like usual, the lyrics make absolutley no sense. Oh, and Keavy not only looks exactly like Edele, she sounds exactly like her too. Thrilling! She also takes over the lead on The Shy One, a really pathetic attempt at sassy R&B that is just laughable. What so many other groups have done successfully, B*Witched makes a mockery out of. Keavy actually tells her man to "act your age and not your shoe size." I don't know if I should cry or weep. Lindsay steps to the mic for the disco-esque My Superman, that sounds like a blatant rip off of the Spice Girls' Who Do You Think You Are or something that should be on an S Club 7 album. It tries really hard to be sexy, but it's just corny as all hell. The problem is you can tell that Miss Armaou has some decent pipes (she does some high pitched ooohs near the end of the song), but they're wasted on this crap.

Don't think all the good vocals are wasted by the other girls, though! Edele does some real wasting on crap like Someday, some kind of tea party, acid trip, nursery rhyme crap song that isn't even worth listening to once. There is literally nothing redeeming about it. Even when I was obsessed with B*Witched, I hated it. What does that tell you? And speaking of nursery rhyme crap, how about the brilliant flop of a single Jump Down. I have seriously never heard a more inane song in my life.

I woke up to find your face on my mind
The sun always shines on my garden
I told you before just knock on my door
'Cuz you know the score, it's my party
You ran away with my spoon
You've stolen my heart, always laughing
I jumped over the moon, right from the start
You always make me feel good

I'm not even kidding. I wish I was, I really do, but I'm not. Otherwise this would have just been a crap song, but as it turns out, it's a steaming, stinky pile of horse excrement put to music. Thankfully B*Witched had no hand in writing this song, but whoever did should be drug out in the street and shot like a rabid dog. Red Indian Girl is much in the same vein, some idiotic tale about an old man at a bus stop who saw a red Indian girl everywhere he went. The harmonies are good, but this song tries really hard to sound like something you'd hear at a pow wow, and it just sucks.

I feel really bad that B*Witched ever recorded this album, as I think they had a lot of potential. They had really smooth harmonies and obvious vocal talent, along with even some decent songs on their first album. But this album sunk any chance they had down the toilet by being bland, watered down, and just plain boring as all hell. B*Witched broke up a few years after this album was released, and they are now "pursuing solo careers". Ha!

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Tracklisting
1. If It Don't Fit
2. Jesse Hold On
3. I Shall Be There (ft. Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
4. Jump Down
5. Someday
6. Leaves
7. The Shy One
8. Red Indian Girl
9. It Was Our Day
10. My Superman
11. Are You A Ghost
12. In Fields Where We Lay
13. Blame It On The Weatherman (Orchestral Version)

Skip It: Jump Down, Someday, Leaves, The Shy One, Red Indian Girl... shall I go on?

Repeat It: Jesse Hold On, I Shall Be There, Are You A Ghost

B*Witch Up Your Life: B*Witched

Great Music To Play While: Crying and asking yourself "What happened?"

Recommended: No