Vanessa Carlton, who distinguished herself as the One with the Piano in the anti-Britney sweepstakes of late 2001/early 2002, returns with "Harmonium," the follow-up to her mediocre debut "Be Not Nobody." This second set - extremely overproduced by Carlton's boyfriend, Third Eye Blind frontman Stephen Jenkins - finds Carlton lost amidst the overly lush orchestrations that permeate the songs "San Francisco," "Afterglow" and "Private Radio." And though she tries, she can't make up for her thin, whiny voice, her pedestrian piano skills or her bland, one-dimensional lyrics ("she's as fine as dandelions blowin' in the wind," she intones on "She Floats"). Suddenly, the promise that accompanied her first single seems a thousand miles away. GRADE: C
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