Donna DeLory

Donna De Lory's eponymous debut album is a slick combination of longing love ballads and hopeful dance songs. Surprisingly, though, unlike most disposable synth-pop of the late '80s/early '90s, Donna DeLory doesn't sound dated nearly ten years later. There is a sweetness to both her voice and her productions that cuts through the vampy sex image most dance singers must employ to get attention, and that winsomeness doesn't go out of style. With the engaging minor hits "Praying for Love" and "Just a Dream" (which Madonna co-wrote and on which she sings harmony), De Lory showed she could perform pop with the best of them, but when she takes on AIDS in "World With No Shame" and firearms control in "Frankie (You Don't Need That Gun)," she shows that she has conscience as well as heart. Throw in the cotton-candied "Shiny Red World" and Donny De Lory is a solid album worth owning. — Bryan Buss.