Goodbye Alice in Wonderland

There is something admirable about the way Jewel refuses to be simply the snaggle-toothed folk-pop beauty that people expect her to be. That “something,” though, is not her music. Her latest opens with a few mellow acoustic tunes, then makes some unconvincing attempts to rock out, dips into the trashy pop goo she wallowed in on her last album, and finally returns to the wordy, folksy stuff. Her songs are resilient throughout, remaining awkward, self-conscious, and overwrought, regardless of accompaniment.