Known for her sweetly brash play-by-my-rules lyrics in the hopeful yet guilty "I'm Like a Bird," the left-field "Turn Off the Light," and the anti-establishment "Shit on the Radio," Furtado disappeared just as quickly as she appeared, despite making a slew of guest-appearences for Missy Elliot, Ms. Jade, and Paul Oakenfold. With Folklore, her second album, she contemplates her moments as one hit wonder and makes strides for a removal of that title. The end result is a far more consistent disc than the all-over-the-map Whoa, Nelly!, which had all it's highlights on the charts... and nothing much else to say.

First radio release "Powerless" is an excellent indication of what the rest of the disc is like, and her best single to date. She quickly throws the hidden rascism of magazine covers in our faces, but her message is less defensive than her first few lines imply; she later sends outwords of inner peace. The guitar-driven sound is accessible enough, and while every track on Whoa, Nelly! sounded entirely different, Folklore has more of a flow, and the focus is the same as last time: it's all about Nelly.

Finding selflessness in self-absorbtion, Nelly delivers a high quality disc that features a manic selection of retrospective moods: "The Grass is Green" is covered with regret, and a funky bass-line; the Portuguese-flavoured "Forca" vibrantly celebrates life; and "Explode" is a run-down list of proactive teenage experience. The album's central theme seems to be that of life, and Nelly is both enthusiastic and petrified at the future. With so much clearly going on in her head, that's not surprising.

The swoony, breezy "Island of Wonder" is appealing, and the album ends with "Childhood Dreams," which begins with a meter-defying stream of vocals. The lullaby-sound is swoony and soft, while Nelly's vocals are quick and sharp for half the song, a strange contrast. All of this forgivable, as it's lyrics are exceptionally sweet, and it grows into a swaying call-out to a loved one.

I am not used to being carried,
or being able to carry a pretty song.
I have been bruised by my many trails;
sometimes my skin's so thick it's frail.
I just need to be ignored 'til I wake up to the beauty that is yours,
and it all comes to life so suddenly.
This is a place so deep, the water's so deep I hesitate, 'cause

all the energy it takes to feel this power,
I tend to run, I tend to hide, I tend to scream 'til I find you and I know I got you.
I know, I know, I know

you're the little boy made for me in the stars,
in the stars; that's why I can't let you go.
The little boy made for me in the stars;
that's why I love you more the further I go,
and before this existence you were always here,
inside of me.
You are, you are the realest thing I know;
hands down... the realest thing I know.

- Nelly Furtado, "Childhood Dreams."