Track Listing

1. Just A Little Girl
2. Misfit
3. Under The Thumb
4. If Only
5. Beautiful Lie
6. Ladder In My Tights
7. Carry Me Away
8. Happy Now
9. You're Gonna Be Fine
10. Superior Mind
11. Going Out Of My Mind
12. Seconds Away
13. Testify
14. Nobody

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27377 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-30
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
The timing of Amy Studt's debut album, False Smiles, couldn't be better. Building on a solid foundation established by the likes of Natalie Imbruglia and Lene Marlin in the late 1990s and carried forward by Gemma Hayes and a glut of young, brokenhearted pop stars since then, Studt's songs combine piano-driven, acoustic laments with Avril Lavigne's polished angst. "There's a hell of a lot more to me," she growls in "Just a Little Girl". Well, maybe. But what's this? She's managed by Simon Fuller, the man behind the Pop Idol phenomenon, and a man who knows a thing or two about ready-made pop for the masses. So maybe the timing isn't a coincidence. For that matter, neither is Studt's frilly dresses, dark eyeliner and "misfit" personality.

There's no denying the genuine talent at work here. As cowriter to all of the songs on offer (an unusually prolific fourteen), she brings a teenage playfulness and daddy's little girl sweetness to the heartache her cowriters are unnecessarily inflicting upon her. In fact, you can't help wondering what some of these songs would have turned out like without the middle-aged meddling of Cathy Dennis and the like. Perhaps a young Tori Amos (particularly with the vocal leaps of "Gonna Be Fine")? False Smiles is a debut with potential, but Studt's own innocence and personality needs to shine through more in the future if anyone is to believe she's more than the superficial flash-in-the-pan that she denies being. --Cortman Virtue

CD Description
Debut album from young Bournemouth singer-songwriter, the latest protege of pop svengali Simon Fuller. Fitting into thenew generation rock chick mould, with introspective lyrics emboldened by big, radio-friendly pop production. Has been compared to Alisha's Attic, whom she admits as a major influence and whose Karen Poole co-writes several of these songs along with Gary Barlow. Features the singles 'Just A Little Girl' and 'Misfit'.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant album!
I was finally convinced to buy this album after hearing Under The Thumb and it was definitely worth it. 12 out 14 tracks are fantastic, but I can leave this CD on repeat all for hours without getting bored.

1. Just A Little Girl - The first single taken from the album, nice lyrics, takes a while to get started but catchy chorus 8/10
2. Misfit - Second single, incredibly catchy, cant help but sing along to the lyrics! 9/10
3. Under The Thumb - Third single, reminds me of LeAnn Rimes crossed with Avril Lavigne! Not an outstanding track, but yet again catchy! 7/10
4. If Only - Has to be my favourite track on the CD, will always make you wana be with someone you love, Amy's voice is beautiful here. 10/10
5. Beautiful Lie - This one will have you tapping your fingers along, the tune gets in your head and wont go away! The lyrics aren't fantastic though. 7/10
6. Ladder In My Tights - Another finger tapper and one of the outstanding tracks. Has a rockier feel to it and the lyrics are fantastic, always cheers me up, its one of my turn it up driving songs! 10/10
7. Carry Me Away - One of two tracks I'm not a huge fan of, its not terrible but I don't like the chorus, I dont think Amy has the right voice for it. 3/10
8. Happy Now - This sounds a lot like a Michelle Branch song and is quite sad really, but highly relaxing, don't listen to it if you just broke up with someone. 6/10
9. You're Gonna Be Fine - This is gorgeous if you want to listen to somethin mellow, but I find that one note in the chorus is too high which ruins the song for me (you will understand if you hear it). 4/10
10. Superior Mind - Very dull beginning, but after that its a brilliant song with a rocky chorus, still haven't made sense of the lyrics though, I try every time and never manage to listen to them all!
11. Going Out Of My Mind - This is similar to Britney's Dear Diary, but far more classy and catchy, I love this song but its a little repetitive at times. 8/10
12. Seconds Away - This reminds me of Michelle Branch again, the lyrics work really well in a choppy kind of way and the rhythem holds you completely. 9.5/10
13. Testify - A nice rocky chorus, but the rest of the song is a bit boring, occasionally gets skipped because it sounds too similar to any other song with a rocky chorus, not the best song on the CD but not the worst. 6/10
14. Nobody - Could be Michelle Branch again, very simple, building up to a heartfelt chorus. A little depressing though, ending the album on a bit of a low note. 6/10

Amy Studt - False Smiles
My daughter bought this CD and told me to listen to it (strange when your 17 year old asks you to listen to her music) and I did with some trepidation. I was expecting modern hip-hop junk. How wrong I was!

The whole album is superb, I don't think there is a weak track on it and certainly no filler. This goes to show that there are some young singer/songwriters out there who can produce good music. It is nice to see that a young girl can produce good music without relying on a purely sexy image. The only fly in the ointment is the track order. It is almost as if the CD is deliberately divided into two halves with the noisy and quiet tracks kept seperate. Some more imagination in the track order would have been nice, but that doesn't spoil the appeal of the CD.

For me, the jewel in the crown is "Gonna be fine", closely followed by "Misfit" and "Ladder in my tights" (the cleverly, and barely, masked sweary word brings a smile to my face every time I hear it).

I grew up listening to Queen, ELO, 10CC, Status Quo etc and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this CD. So, to all you wrinklies out there, there is modern music that is good. Give this one a go, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant debut - promising future
I bought this mostly because i couldnt get the rockin' single 'misfit' out of my head, but the album has made me realise that there is a lot more to amy studt. This brilliant album demonstrates amys songwriting and emotive vocal talents very well.
'Just a little girl'- As most of you will know this was Amys first single and is a good introduction to the musical style and themes on the album. Quite angsty and rocky. 8/10

'Misfit' - Fantastic tune, one of my faves. It demonstrates what Amys music is all about and has a very good, strong message to down trodden teenagers everywhere.This is Amy telling about her school experiences and showing how different she is without making a big show of it. Music and lyrics pure class. 10/10

'Under the thumb' - Slightly reggae intro which soon turns into another rockin' 'misfit' type tune. Very catchy new single, should do well 9/10

'If only' - Very chilled and one of the dark horses of the album. You tend to pass it by on the first few listens but after a while you realise that it is a simple but beautiful song. Sounds a lot like Lene Marlins first album. Very good 8/10

'Beautiful lie' - Very strong reminders of Busted here (in a good way)!!, with the fantastic electric guitar intro. Very catchy chorus, great lyrics, emotive vocals. Another of my faves, should be a future single (i hope) 10/10

'Ladder in my tights' - Like misfit in theme, but more rockin'. A potencial teenage anthem. THE highlight of the album. This is Amy letting the world know that she is happy with not being a pop bimbo. This is pure class, great for teenage angst and to rock out to. LOVE IT. 10/10

'Carry me away' - This definatly grows on you, again sounds similar to Lene Marlin, but with Amys own touch of style 7/10

'Happy now' - Very bittersweet and beautiful. Very different from the other tracks with heavy strings. Very emotive. Amys haunting vocals and passion are second to none on this track. 9/10

'Gonna be fine' - Very gentle piano and spanishy guitars along with Amys haunting vocals and powerful lyrics are fantastic again on this track 9/10

'Superior mind' - Good but a bit samey here, similar to 'misfit' but less catchy. 6/10

'Going out of my mind' - Slightly boring verses but kicks in at the chorus, nice and catchy. 7/10

'Seconds away' - Another very nice song instrumentally, piano and strings fit with Amys vocals very well. Very gentle but angry chorus, the style that Amy does so well 8/10

'Testify' - co written by G. Barlow et al, who co wrote some of the strongest tracks on Delta Goodrems album. Amy sounds a bit like Tori Amos here, very strong vocally. 8/10

'Nobody' - The album ends on a slightly weak note compared to some of the fantastically loud and catchy songs on the album, but it does sum Amys album up very well. Very autobiographical, well written, well sung, emotional and catchy 8/10

All in all, a very impressive album. A definate cd collection must have for angsty teenagers, those with a rockin' side, those with an ear for a great melody, and wel....everyone really!!