One of those stateside success stories that you read about and find truly hard to fathom. Ingrid Michaelson is a fresh faced female singer/songwriter whose debut 2007 album GIRLS AND BOYS sold over 400,000 copies on her own Cabin 24 Records label. From that record, single THE WAY I AM was used in a major Old Navy advertising campaign whilst KEEP BREATHING featured in the 2007 season finale of Grey's Anatomy; all of which prompted single sales of 1.5 million.

A support slot on the Dave Matthews tour has seen her playing to 20,000 capacity arena crowds recently and her placing as history's most successful unsigned artist led to appearances on the likes of The Jay Leno Show, Conan O'Brien and Good Morning America; not to mention features in magazines like Billboard, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

New album EVERYBODY sees Ingrid Michaelson aiming to repeat that stateside success over here in the UK, bolstered by her biggest UK show to date at London's Scala in late November. On listening to EVERYBODY though, the Ingrid Michaelson success story is a little hard to understand, her unassuming brand of gentle pop folk sounding about as middle of the road and vanilla as can be. Making the likes of KT Tunstall seem like a sneering punk rock anarchist, Michaelson croons pleasant melodies over jaunty guitar chords, the gentle patter of drums and the occasional orchestral swelling. Openers SOLDIER and EVERYBODY sound about as thrilling as your average X Factor or Pop Idol wannabe, Michaelson failing to establish herself as anyone particularly original, fresh or inspired; the sound of any number or similarly bland folk pop chanteuses out there doing extremely similar sounding things right now this very second.

The more downbeat ARE WE THERE YET is a more mournful and introspective number, yet imbued with the same sense of over familiarity and blandness; Michaelson again failing to ever really stamp a sense of her own personality on proceedings. The piano led SORT OF plays out like a watered down take on the quirky pop of Regina Spektor, although obviously stripped of those quirks that makes her own particular brand of pop so distinctive and ear popping. INCREDIBLE LOVE sees Ingrid Michaelson at least attempting something a little more inspired, dabbling in down tempo beats and the odd Beatles-esque orchestral touch; a step in the right direction sure, but nothing the likes of Imogen Heap, Sia or Zero 7 aren't already doing with a heap more success, invention and class.

The sweetly sung folk of MOUNTAIN AND THE SEA is a much more successful direction for Ingrid Michaelson, the simplicity of the melodies and massive pop hooks that anchor the song positioning her as a kind of female equivalent of Ben Lee; the most charming and sprightly moment of EVERYBODY and a direction you can't help but wish she'd explore further. Elsewhere here though, the likes of MEN OF SNOW, THE CHAIN and SO LONG see her retreating back towards the bland and middle of the road, songs that pass by with more a whimper than a bang, sadly lacking that much needed charm and simplistic innocence.

The closing trio of songs do up the ante somewhat thankfully, ONCE WAS LOVE marrying a Supertramp piano stomp to gentle pop folk tropes, LOCKED UP benefitting from a bombastic gusto that deftly blends Tori Amos and Regina Spektor and the climaxing MAYBE, sounding like the kind of angsty teen drama soundtrack that first catapulted Ingrid Michaelson to the heights she finds herself at today.

Despite a scant handful of tunes that highlight her potential, EVERYBODY is a record that feels far too bland and unassuming to impress. Ingrid Michaelson has produced a collection of songs that stick firmly to the middle of the road here, a record that fails to showcase this singer/songwriter as someone with an original sense of personality or sound she can truly call her own. Polished and slick for sure, EVERYBODY feels more like a by-the-numbers marketing experiment into smooth folk pop than a record to cherish, ultimately Ingrid Michaelson lacking that much need spark of magic to impress here.