Ready

Reni Lane’s debut received a boost from VH1 in early 2010, when the network chose the album’s leadoff track as the theme for a new reality series. The song in question, “Place for Us,” is the album’s main highlight, filled with stabs of alt rock guitar and a confident, understated vocal performance. Lane can’t quite sustain that energy throughout the disc, though, and the bulk of Ready is a bit erratic, moving from rock to electro to contemporary pop with little explanation. Featuring four different producers and just as many songwriters, it’s more of a showcase for the behind-the-scenes personnel than Lane herself. A former weekly performer at the Sidewalk Café in Manhattan, she’s more than capable of handling a song on her own, and some of the more memorable moments here -- including “Runaway Train,” with its simple instrumentation and cycling drum loops -- manage to make their impact with melody instead of backup musicianship. Such songs are the exception rather than the rule, however, and Ready winds up being a collection of scattered singles as opposed to a cohesive record.