Barlowgirl

Another Journal Entry
Fervent Records

Leave it to the Barlow girls to take something as private and candid as a journal entry and strap it to a screaming bottle rocket. With its literal title, the group’s sophomore effort, “Another Journal Entry,” does just that — and the best part is they didn’t have to debut a clothing line or star in a reality TV show to set that fuse aflame. This release is a hype-free zone.

The Barlow sisters allowed the album to flow lyrically straight from the raw material of their own journals, where each Barlow documents her faith walk. The CD’s romping, playful tracks — such as “5 Minutes of Fame” — showcase the group’s natural moxie.

It has its emotional, warm portions, too. The Celtic-flavored “Porcelain Heart” is an ethereal confession, and “Never Alone” sounds achingly blunt, like a Davidic lament for times when things look peachy but suddenly life becomes a mess.

BarlowGirl obviously takes its music far more seriously than the girls take themselves, and the result is explosively true to life in some spots, charming in others. While this is a good pop-rock offering, it still sounds much like standard Top-40 Christian radio fare, leaving room for the band to hone its own sound and approach. And it’s all wrapped in a sound that mixes The Bangles, The Go-Gos, ’80s Heart and Simple Plan, punctuated with some Dukes of Hazzard-worthy whoops so distinctly Barlow. Thank heaven for little girls.