Entertainment

Boots puts her best foot forward with ‘Hands’

LITTLE BOOTS

“Hands”

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VICTORIA Hesketh, a k a Little Boots, is already a star in her native Great Britain, but the blond cutie is starting all over again here in America with today’s release.

“Hands” is reminiscent of the glam-packed, hook-filled electro-pop of Aussie singer Kylie Minogue, with a nod to early Britney — with lyrics chronicling the long night’s party into day and the lust for boy toys.

Album opener “New in Town”– with its big bottom beats, synth swagger and Little Boots’ clear, middle-tone vocals — is a nod to the Spice Girls style and attitude: a pumping, upbeat number in which a girl takes charge, leaving nothing to chance in romance.

“Stuck on Repeat,” which smacks of Madonna’s influence, is another high point, but “Tune to My Heart” is a mushy musical pudding. Even so, the tune is subversively catchy.

Wondering where Little Boots got her nickname? It’s what they used to call the notorious Roman emperor — Caligula — roughly translated.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

“Almost Alice”

**½

THE sonic trip down the rabbit hole isn’t as trippy as Tim Burton’s upcoming “Alice in Wonderland” appears in the trailers. This 16-song collection by various rock, alt-rock and pop acts is almost all original music inspired by the film. Yet while the lyrics are often a clever retelling of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, the music lacks that same sense of adventure.

Avril Lavigne’s “Alice” comes on strong with a dark melody sung with girlish, Alice frills, but ultimately disintegrates as Lavigne starts to screech the chorus as if this were “Sk8er Boi, Part 2.” Much better is “In Transit,” a duet by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, which seems to borrow the psychedelic carnival riff from The Beatles’ “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.”

A couple of cover songs deserve your attention: The Cure’s Robert Smith is excellent on “Very Good Advice” — a tune from the 1951 Disney version of “Wonderland” — only this time, it sounds as if it were recorded underwater. Another highlight is Grace Potter & the Nocturnals’ version of the Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 classic “White Rabbit.” Grace Potter isn’t Grace Slick, but she comes close . . . just ask Alice.

JOHN HIATT

“The Open Road”

***½

SEEING that he’s one of America’s best songwriters, you have to forgive John Hiatt’s questionable abilities as a singer. OK, so his nasal twang is annoying, and he sometimes seems to be less than passionate when his powerhouse lyrics demand emotion.

But when I listen to Hiatt sing the title track and “Movin’ On,” I hear a couple of ballads Bruce Springsteen probably wishes he wrote. The boogie “Haulin’ ” seems pulled from the CCR songbook. “Go Down Swingin’ ” and “Homeland” are pure Dylan. And “What Kind of Man” is ready for Bonnie Raitt.

Hiatt is one bluesy folk-rock chameleon who understands that no matter how you sing it, the song always comes first.