Underwood underwhelms with cookie-cutter CD

Carrie Underwood is, creatively speaking, pretty boring.

If Play On, the follow-up to 2007’s thrice-platinum Carnival Ride, displayed a dramatically — or even appreciably — different side of the 26-year-old superstar, it would have been not only welcome, but overdue.

After two albums that have, collectively, sold more than 10 million copies and earned dozens of awards, Underwood badly needs to take a risk.

But as she has for the past four years, the Oklahoma native instead delivers a record reeking of commerce and devoid of anything resembling art. It’s glossy product, primped and polished and ready for holiday retail extravaganzas.

Of course, it’s in her best interest to keep the slick radio hits coming and, with help from a stable of high-profile Nashville songwriters, Play On delivers 13 tracks that would sound perfectly at home in heavy rotation. Each tune is wholly interchangeable with any song from her two previous efforts and is gussied up with the sort of barely-there stylistic affectations that young Nashville mistakes for genuine country music.

Most maddening about the Mark Bright-produced Play On (amusingly, Britney Spears svengali Max Martin pops in for a single song, Quitter) is Underwood’s newly discovered ability to handle a variety of moods: Spiritual (Temporary Home); playful (Songs Like This); earnest (the title track); giddy (Undo It) or regretful (What Can I Say), she seems increasingly comfortable with Music City’s time-honored tradition of allowing other people to craft sonic roles for her.

If only she had some substance worthy of her voice; Underwood continues to coast on her talent and empty platitudes, with precious little to sustain interest. The sentiments, particularly on the socially conscious Change, are admirable, but Underwood conveys little beyond scene-setting and chest-thumping affirmation.

Underwood has had too much success doing a few things well to ever truly break out of the box, which may satisfy her financially but would seem stifling creatively. Although she makes noise in the press about pushing herself and trying new things, as she did in a recent Billboard interview, the only variable between albums is who helps write songs.

And while Underwood’s legions of fans support her every decision without question — loyal, vocal and fiercely protective though they may be — one can’t help but wonder: If Underwood pulled out all the stops, took a page from the Jamey Johnson or Lee Ann Womack playbook and explored a few less brightly lit corners of life, would she still reign as country music’s great glowing hope?

She would at least be a lot more interesting.

Download this: Songs Like This

Preston Jones is the Star-Telegram pop music critic, 817-390-7713

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