Local singer-songwriter Jodi King has taken her music all the way to Africa and performed alongside Steve Bell and Fred Penner – but Little Smile marks her first full-length album. She’s got talent. Posing as the perfect girl next door on the album cover, King serves up highly polished, bright pop songs pushed forward by her warm, organic voice. From the radio-ready The Way I Am Around You – a song about dangerously leading someone on – to the cheesy My Boyfriend’s Jeans and the love-declaring Synthesize, the album plays like a grown-up Taylor Swift diary. There are spiritual overtones and genuine sentiments void of mainstream pop glitter and glam here, but musically, Little Smile does little to separate itself from the rest of the pack. Perfect for the Christian teenager in you.

Published in Volume 65, Number 1 of The Uniter (September 2, 2010)