Bif Naked’s senior effort, Superbeautifulmonster, is precisely what its title suggests; like the gorgon Medusa, her album is coifed with untamed and animated snake tresses, accentuated with a sassy tongue, and gifted with wings that alternate between low gliding and full flight.



After more than 10 years in the music industry, Bif Naked, née Beth Torbert, has intensified her distinctive vocals and reclaimed her underrated position as the leading lady of alterna-rock, ahead of the more generic and popularized croons of No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Evanesence’s Amy Lee. Torbert’s typically bold lyrics have also undergone a rejuvenation process that casts the topics of love, sex, abuse and drugs in an original light.



The album opens with the soul scorching chords of “Abandonment”. The slower sound and ardently profound lyrics are conventionally Bif Naked while the actual song is wrapped in fresh innovativeness. The raspy “Ladybug Waltz” and “The Question Song” continue along the same vein of “Abandonment”, heart pumping, mind shaking capsules of insightful escape.



Despite arguably being Bif Naked’s greatest album ever, not all 13 tracks are consistently stellar. On pseudo-ballads such as “Everyday”, “Henry” and “After A While” the vocals sometimes sound stretched, shallow and lack Bif Naked’s usual energetic vigor. Listeners almost get the sense that in her attempt to cover all aspects of human emotion and experience, Torbert overstretches herself and these moments are the speed bumps that sporadically halt the full force of her album. This is not to say, however, that the quality of lyrical content is reduced; Bif Naked never relents in her delivery of honest and impacting commentaries on life.



Feeling comfortable in her own skin and opinion, Bif Naked spices tracks such as “Funeral Of A Good Grrl” and “Yeah You” with uncontrived sensuality, alluring listeners with her passionate words and throaty voice. Catchy but not empty of depth, these songs will have listeners singing along before realizing to themselves, “I can’t believe I just said it out loud”. To ease listeners down from the musical high, “Let Down”, “I Want”, “That’s Life” and “The World Is Over” act as slightly frenetic air-popped morsels of transitional tranquility.



Perhaps too true to the Metallica original is Bif Naked’s cover of “Nothing Else Matters”, which comes across as overly subdued and lacks the characteristic elements fans know and love. Bif Naked’s upfront personality and integrity to achieving her personal musical pinnacle are strong enough to stand alone and should be the focus of this Superbeautifulmonster. With this album, Bif Naked has set an even higher standard to beat with her already much-anticipated next effort.