Bitter Twisted Wrong - Review
More brass than Chrissie Hinde, Dido with attitude, KT Tunstall with balls. And isn't there some weird Kate Bush-like wailing in there somewhere? There's a new diva in town and she doesn't mince her words. Shockingly forthright new talent Chrystina Tomlin is the naïve teenager who grew up to realise she had claws and could use them to fight back against the world.

The result is the most brutally frank, fascinating and undeniably triumphant debut album, Bitter Twisted Wrong, you're ever likely to come across. Tomlin's lyrics tell tales of a girl who's grown up - a victim of broken relationships who's picked herself up off the floor and taken command of the situation. Track one, Your Demise, sets the scene with these words: Don't you come crawling back to me/You got me so blind I forgot I could see/I'm not gonna fall/I'm not gonna break.

And there's the amusing but to the point lines: I'm not going to bow/You're piss-poor now. Bitter Twisted Wrong is really an album of two halves - the first part is based on driving heavy rock guitar, the second more melodic and experimental and featuring own Tomlin's piano accompaniment. Both are fascinating. Incredibly for this album's recording, only Tomlin and Phillip Goss are involved - she contributes lead and backing vocals, piano and acoustic guitar, he adds electric and classical guitars, bass, drums, percussion and keyboards. As such, this is a studio masterpiece.

Tomlin's chamelon-like qualities see her experimenting with a variety of vocal styles - the tortured No More has echoes of '80s band The Pretenders while Sometimes reminds me of KT Tunstall. Later on in the album Tomlin really goes for it to test the upper limits of her range and here you might be reminded of Kate Bush and Carol King at their best. But the greatest compliment I can pay Tomlin is that she is no karaoke copycat - her forceful style can cross all boundaries and her take-no-prisoners lyrics are as refreshing and shocking as a bucket of ice water over the head. The track from which the album takes its name - Bitter Twisted Wrong - deserves pole position and is typical of what Chrystina has to say. Lyrics like this are never going to get Tomlin airplay on radio 2 but then she probably wouldn't want that anyway: You're a twisted One/That's probably why I feel for you/You're a talented mystery/What did I do wrong? And it adds: I'm so tired of the moping/Only needing me when my legs are open. Yes, it's below the belt in more way than one but then truth is always hard to stomach, so why not?

Other titles on the album tell stories of similar situations, with titles such as Accusations, Losing You, Lonely Tonight and Your Demise. In a sense they're confessional but Tomlin isn't about to say sorry for what has happened in the past. The message comes across loud and clear: I've messed up, we've messed up but now I see everything how it is and I'm moving on stronger. Her incredible versatility is perhaps best showcased in the title track, when Chrystina explores just how many octaves she can take her voice, though Lonely Tonight runs it close and is in perhaps her most natural key. Tomlin wraps it all up with Poison and a parting shot at all her detractors: All you liars tried to put me down.

Whether you like your music poignant and sad or sassy and tough, Bitter Twisted Wrong will strike painful chords with all listeners. - Alan Candy