Little Boots doesn’t take any big steps

Little Boots

Hands

Elektra Entertainment

Rocks like: Lady Gaga,… Little Boots

Hands

Elektra Entertainment

Rocks like: Lady Gaga, Goldfrapp

Grade: B-

As if the market for highly synthesized, female electro-pop wasn’t crowded enough already, it’s time to try and squeeze one more pair of boots in there.

Thankfully, it’s Little Boots we need to make room for, and she fits in just fine among her competition.

Little Boots’ debut album Hands doesn’t do much to disguish her from other artists in the genre. The beats are infectious, though sometimes monotonous as well, and none of the songs really stand out in the way that has given Lady Gaga such incredible and rapid success or the way Goldfrapp has established herself as the mother hen of female electro-pop.

“Remedy,” the album’s lead single, is like a more matured Cascada song — the lyrics and riff seem downright silly, but regardless, it will be impossible to get it out of your head. “Earthquake” is a personal highlight, as its sing-songy call-and-response structure makes it refreshingly unpredictable.

“But just when I believe/ that I’ve lost all my need/ you crash right into my life/ and there’s no brakes.”

This is the chorus from “No Brakes,” the muted album closer, and before you have to ask, yes, Little Boots makes a pun out of “heart brakes.” Thankfully, this genre of music is given somewhat of a free pass when it comes to the intellectual quality of the music because enjoying an artist like Little Boots has nothing to do with how smart the tracks are — instead, what matters is how they make you feel.

Unfortunately, though there are highlights, not everything is passably decent on the album. “Stuck on Repeat” is a muddled and ironic mess because no one will listen to it more than once before it becomes an instant-skip track. “Tune into My Heart” and “Click” sound like horrible ’80s-inspired missteps, whereas “Ghost” sounds like it would have been good had it been not as overproduced — and sung by someone else.

Still though, the good stuff is worth appreciating. “New in Town,” the opener which was also featured on the “Jennifer’s Body” soundtrack, is easily the most catchy and unique track on the album. Maybe now that Little Boots has gotten past her Hands, she can land on her feet and examine what works for her — and what definitely does not.