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Alexandra Slate
Edge of the Girl (Hollywood Records)
By: Scott D. Lewis
 Gosh, it's almost like it's getting hard to trust the record labels these days. I mean, if I didn't know better, I might begin to think that some people are getting record deals based more on their looks than talent! That's what one might think looking at Alexandra Slate. She's thin and blonde and sassy-cute in an Ally McBeal sort of way, but she actually churns out some decent tunes. From Toronto, Slate (born Alexandra Sleightholm) got started in coffee houses doing acoustic folk-pop songs. After a side stage stint on a Lilith Fair date, Slate adopted her new name and retooled her sound. She found her way to Hollywood Records and working with esteemed modern rock producer Rob Cavallo. The result is the aptly-titled Edge of the Girl, which finds Slate running through the I Am Woman minefield laid by the likes of Liz Phair, Tracy Bonham and Alanis Morissette. "Bad Girl," the lead track and single, appeared on the "Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" soundtrack, and takes the sentiment of Meredith Brook's "Bitch" and adds a grittier edge and waves of angular guitars. Slate vacillates between such empowering rockers and more mid-tempo confessions, but through it all, her voice maintains a balance between street-wise, seductive and sweet. "Guilty" opens with some aching strings and a dance beat and then turns into a Fiona Apple-esque energetic pop-rock songs that's difficult not to fall into. Edge of the Girl certainly doesn't break into any new territory and Slate doesn't really distinguish herself from the throng of similarly-minded pop-rock "chicks" out there, but she easily holds her own, and these days, that's doing pretty darn well.
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