by Stewart MasonAmsterdam-based Birgit makes a play for the U.S. audience with True Stories I Made Up, a slightly awkward mash-up of Faye Wong, Natasha Bedingfield, Scandinavian electro-pop sweetheart Annie and an unappealing dose of Alanis Morissette-style angsty melodrama in the vocals. There are some decent pop singles here, foremost amongst them the extremely Bedingfield-like single Baby Please and the Asian-influenced ballad Guardian Angel, which brings back fond memories of the cult favorite '90s pop duo Alisha's Attic. On the other side, the more rock-oriented tunes like Celebrity Trash and the ghastly Hardrockin' Diva are trite and irritating, and the piano-and-vocals cover of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights is the sort of thing better suited for a Tori Amos B-side. True Stories I Made Up is extremely spotty, but there's a small handful of worthwhile pop gems to be found here. But there may not be quite enough wheat to make it worth sifting through the chaff.