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M2M- Shades of Purple

Two and a half stars

(Atlantic)

With Shades of Purple, Norwegian pop duo M2M have made their attempt to cash in on the lucrative American teen-pop-chanteuse market.

On the heels of the successes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Mandy Moore, the team of 15-year-olds Marit Larsen and Marion Raven seem destined for smash success. They've already had a taste of it, with "Don't Say You Love Me," their first American single, from the soundtrack to the ominously named "Pokemon: the First Movie."

It is sort of disturbing that "Don't Say You Love Me," - a sexually-tinged song about resisting the advances of a boy who is "moving too fast" - was included on the soundtrack to a movie aimed squarely at an 8-year-old audience. Beyond that, though, M2M come across as a mostly wholesome, sweet girl group, singing harmless poppy paeans to idealistic teen love and cute boys.

The adorable "Girl In Your Dreams" - penned by Marion when she was just 13 - deals with teen insecurity and having a crush. "Maybe I don't have the blonde hair you like/ or maybe I don't have eyes like the sky/ and I'm not sure if I'm the girl in your dreams/ but I can show you what love means," sing the girls over an R&B-flavored backing of synthesized drum beats and gentle piano.

The album's production is predictably immaculate and uninventive, mostly featuring softly strummed acoustics and danceable drums, building to more instrumentation during the choruses. The melodies are sweet and forgettable, the music pretty but disposable. It sounds like an unstoppable pop smash, sure to be bought by millions of young teen girls.

In a teensploitation market filled with uncomfortably mature teen girls exhorting listeners to "hit me baby one more time" or "rub me the right way," M2M's chaste, good-girl pop is a welcome addition, a nice and safe album for teens and pre-teens.