When it was first revealed that Juliette Lewis was becoming a rock star, it was hardly surprising. After all, what other Hollywood actress could have looked as comfortable dancing to L7's S**tlist in Natural Born Killers? Judging from this debut offering from her and the Licks, it's clear that Ms Lewis is a Natural Born Rock Grrl...

"This one goes out to the whole world, that's right!" she drawls before fiery title track You're Speaking My Language, with her singing voice sounding exactly like you'd expect from her movie appearances.

Her influences in writing and recording this album were the Pretenders and Patti Smith and both of them are very evident throughout the album, especially in Money In My Pocket and American Boy Vol 2. I Never Got To Tell You What I Wanted To showcases Lewis's throaty voice perfectly, while This I Know shows off her innocent and vulnerable side.

The strangely-named Pray For The Band Latoya is possibly the best rocker on the album with a memorable chorus and fast beat behind Lewis's vocals. Some of the songs are a bit more forgettable, which is understandable on a debut album, and So Amazing and By The Heat Of Your Light fall into that category.

However, like Minnie Driver before her, Juliette Lewis has thrown off the shackles of the actress-turned-singer curse with ease and we will hopefully hear a lot more from her, especially as her film career is not exactly on fire at the moment. Hopefully her music career will provide us with at least as many highlights as she did in Hollywood.