Halfway through Christina Perri’s debut album “Lovestrong,” it occurred to me that, despite the strengths of the music and overall sound of the album, there was something precluding me from truly enjoying it. At first I thought it may be the forced, often strained lyrics, which strive for bluntness but instead sound strained and melodramatic, but it eventually occurred to me that I was having an adverse reaction to Perri as an artist. It’s not that the performer is untalented, it’s that I found her self-conscious candor and self-righteousness off-putting, which obscured the album’s other strengths. “Lovestrong” is the rare type of album that would sound much better in the hands of a different performer.
Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)
