CD REVIEW: Susan Justice Eat Dirt (Capitol Records/Kite Records)

Susan Justice Eat Dirt (Capitol Records/Kite Records)

                While I will admit to knowing nothing about Susan Justice prior to listening to this album, I will admit that it was something I was looking forward to before even listening to it because the first song is called “Born Bob Dylan”.   In the first song on her debut album, Justice blends a sound that would be loosely translated as P!nk going folk/country (Which does sound good, don’t misunderstand me)   It also has that Local H feel, where she wonders if it would’ve been better had she been born Bob Dylan (Local H pondered “Would you like me any better if I was Eddie Vedder” in their song named “Eddie Vedder”)

                The second song- which happens to be the titular song- starts with a somewhat generic piano riff that sounds a lot like one of those Coldplay radio songs.   (I think it’s the song “Yellow”, but I don’t listen to Coldplay so I can’t tell their songs apart anymore than a helpless animal can tell a hunter apart)     As far as title tracks go, this might be one of the best and for me it’s right up there with Anna Nalick’s “Wreck of the Day” (Which I can also draw other comparisons from on this album)  It starts with the confession that she ran away so her father didn’t abuse her, but it culminates with the notion that “I feel it pays to cross the line and eat a little dirt sometimes”.   I don’t really understand the whole “eat dirt” thing.  Maybe it’s some sort of saying I just completely missed the boat on, but she seems to tie it with the idea that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger so you might as well push forward because life will only get better if it’s not killing you.  

                I like that overall theme a lot for this album, which reflects styles sometimes of Lily Allen, but it’s mostly emotionally charged, piano driven rock ballads that aren’t actually all love songs.   Okay, I’ll admit that the lyrics to the song “My Sweater” are a bit cheesy, but the rest of the overall content is good and stays on the same page as the title suggests.     This is in no way angry female rock like Alanis Morissette, nor is it odd like Fiona Apple or pop like, well, there are a million pop females out there—this is just something in between all of that and it’s a refreshing level to hear.