Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

I TALK TO THE STARS is an interesting project, being a pop project recorded in Nashville by Kellee Bradley, a Seattle native. It is misimpression that Nashville is only about country music; there is probably no other city that has a wide a variation of musical styles represented to the extent that Nashville does. And while I TALK TO THE STARS does have some country-tinged tunes on it ("Goodnight Moon," "Sometimes," "Gone Wishin'") the emphasis leans more to pop.

Then again, given the current state of what passes for country radio these days, there is really nothing on I TALK TO THE STARS, with one or two exceptions, that Clear Channel's country programmers couldn't add to the playlist.

Bradley has a non-distinctive though pleasant voice; the strength on this CD is in Bradley's self-penned material and the arrangements, which are damn near perfect on each track. "Since I Left You" and "Gone Wishin," particularly, are strong lyrically, with the latter tune concerned with the denouement of a relationship which was over before anyone actually left.

"Another Night Alone" sounds, in places, as if it's an outtake from a mid-career Linda Rondstadt. "Steady Course" is perhaps the most interesting track on the CD, combining tin whistle, fiddle and accordion on what is essentially a mainstream pop tune, thus making it something more than that.

The only track that doesn't really work on I TALK TO THE STARS is "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, " an out-and-out rocker which is ill-suited for Bradley's talents; she is better suited for ballads such as "Sometimes." Bradley's unhurried delivery on this track gives her the opportunity to add a wistful element to this tune which is just about perfect.

I TALK TO THE STARS is deserving of more attention than it has received so far. And, by extension, Bradley should be attracting more notice than she has. She certainly has the essentials for stardom and, with the right breaks, she could make it. This is someone to keep an eye on.