Album Review: Sunshine Anderson - 'Sunshine at Midnight'

After being missing from the music scene for about five years while she attended to various personal and professional issues, Sunshine Anderson is back. And she picks up right where she left off on her 2001 hit single, "Heard It All Before." Her sophomore album, Sunshine At Midnight is filled with sass, emotion, originality and best of all, intelligent and insightful lyrics. If there's ever been a woman who's deserved more success than she's achieved so far, it's Sunshine Anderson.

Ever heard the expression "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" Well, whoever came up with the saying probably had women like the fiery Sunshine Anderson in mind at the time, because this sister really knows how to unleash some serious fury.

On the album's first single, "Something I Want to Give to You," she minces no words and makes things crystal clear as she sings to a trifling man: "get your coat, get your hat, get your knapsack, get your lazy ass up off'a my couch, 'cause I want you out ... we had a long run, but it's over."

She goes on to insult him further, even talking trash about his lovemaking skills, or lack thereof. She continues her tirade on the album's second song, "Trust," where she sings to an unidentified snake in the grass: "Ain't no runnin' from me, f*ck what you heard you better be scurred, I'ma get what I deserve, and that's my word - and that's revenge, Yeah life's a b*tch, but that's what happens when you're a snitch."

Not every song is as in-your-face and angry as the above examples, but those two songs are perfect examples of the kind of sass and vigor you can expect on a Sunshine Anderson album.

One thing that can make an artist great is going through life's ups and downs, and Sunshine at Midnight is full of real (or at least seemingly real) emotion and genuine scenarios that some people face. For example, on "Problems" she sings about a friend's real-life situations like having a man who just got thrown in jail and the rent being due: "I wish I could drink and smoke my problems away, holler if you feel my pain."

Not everything on the album's about tough times, though: there's a few songs on which Sunshine talks about the good things in life, like on "Wear the Crown," where she talks about a man who makes her feel like a queen. And on the love songs "Unbelievable" and "Force of Nature," she sings about her devotion to the man she loves and how he seems greater than human to her.

If there's a drawback to the album, it's that the songs focusing on the positive lack the power of the more drama-filled material. Songs like "Unbelievable" and "Force of Nature," while solid and well-sung, are a little dull and don't come close to being as compelling as songs like "Problems." Its compelling songs of conflict, like "Something I Want to Give to You" and "Trust" that make the album memorable and worth listening to.