Completed after a successful Kickstarter crowd-sourcing campaign, Charlene Kaye's 2012 release, Animal Love, follows her debut, Things I Will Need in the Past, by four years. In that time, Kaye not only moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she attended university and recorded her first album, to New York City, but she significantly ramped up the drums, synth sounds, and electric guitar presence. With Animal Love, Kaye busts open the controlled acoustic chamber pop of her debut and moves firmly in the direction of dance-pop. The evolution is announced in the record's opening seconds with the track "Animal Love I" via distorted synth basslines and steady dance drums. Elsewhere on the album, the drums break loose and she channels a rock vibe, most notably in the chorus of "Forever Is a Long Time," a song that also includes an outright electric guitar solo. Neither the rock stylings nor the club elements, such as the throbbing bass of "Poison Apple," were anywhere to be found on Things I Will Need. Kaye hasn't completely abandoned her craftsmanship and orchestral inclinations, however. She still reaches beyond traditional pop instrumentation, and the intricacy of her writing and arranging are on display in songs including "A Million Years," a ballad with piano and strings (and no drums), and "I Dream an Ocean," which exhibits rhythmic and melodic complexity not present on all the tracks. There is even an a cappella tune, "Until the Morning." However, the dynamic vocals on, for example, "Don't Make Me Believe" and the electrification of the album in general, ratchet up the energy. Kaye has cited influences as broad as Queen, Sondre Lerche, Blondie, and Rufus Wainwright, and one can find hints of all of them on this outing. She may lose some fans of the acoustic, orchestral delicacy of her first album, but overall, Animal Love is an accessible romp that has the potential to broaden her audience. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi

1		Animal Love I
2		Forever Is a Long Time
3		A Million Years
4		Hummingbird Heart
5		Poison Apple
6		Until the Morning
7		Woman Up
8		Don't Make Me Believe
9		I Dream an Ocean
10		Animal Love II
11		Animal Love I [Brand Blank Remix]