Bif Naked

With her fourth release, the Chris Isaac Show guest star's transformation (whether intended or accidental) to the raven-haired hoser version of No Doubt's Gwen Stefani is almost complete. She's even gone so far as to remove the lip ring for which she was famous - it's kind of like looking at Joan Osbourne without the nasal piercing. Musically, Purge is Bif's most accessible (read, commercially viable) release to date, in that it almost entirely abandons the punk edge of some of her early songs for everything from mock retro metal posing ("I Love Myself Today") to textured keyboard swells and whiny ballads ("Stolen Sidewalk") to novelty girl pop ("Regular Guy"). There is, however, a certain positive energy that makes her songs, even the goofy and derivative ones, kind of infectious in that "there is a lot worse music on radio these days" kind of way.