Edgy, self-absorbed, and right on the mark. Toronto's Alexandra Slate gives you a picture--or should I say an earful--of actual life. Her music gives a brutally honest account of her life--and it's not all rosy...In Slate's debut album, Edge of the Girl>, songs like "Bad Girl" pound her pain into her art with diary words: "I've fooled the world / I'm a very bad girl," she croons, a side of her she says "is about that one part of everyone that is not ever seen." Her music has a tone of Fiona Apple's melancholy bitterness as her rich voice effortlessly glides from angry growls to sweetly seductive harmonies, with a dose of Alanis Morissette's expression of inner wrath on relationships. Illumination never did taste as sweet as revenge.

Slate has been writing songs since 13 and started performing at 16 with inspiration from artists such as Joni Mitchell, the Pretenders, and The Beatles. Her music bypasses her punk-rock phase -- hating her parents and not fitting in -- to show us a mature, normal girl who just got that chapter out of her life. As Slate expresses her feelings and life's toil through her music, you'll want more of what she's offering.

To listen to a track, visit www.hollywoodrecords.go.com/alexandraslate.