When a unique artist like Santogold (real name Santi White) comes along, it is difficult to throw a genre atop her small, yet raw music catalog.

With her debut solo effort Santogold, Santogold has created an album that meshes continental influences in style. Though an American artist, Santogold looked to house and dub music to create the core backdrop of her album.

After gaining a reputation in the Philadelphia area as the lead singer of the ska/punk band Stiff, Santogold signed a deal with Downtown Records, an Atlantic records distributor that includes Gnarls Barkley and Mos Def.

As the buzz of Santogold’s name began to spread, many critics were aligning her direction of music to that of M.I.A. Santogold has said although they have worked with similar producers, her sound was distinct in itself.

Throughout the album, this claim is true with the exception of one track that has a direct comparison in sound. “Creator,” a pulsing time warp of sounds, is produced by the same M.I.A. collaborator, Switch. Surprisingly, his hand in this track for Santogold is less provocative, yet it is more satisfying.

The album features two versions of “You’ll Find A Way,” one as an upbeat track (the original), and the other a dub-ridden remix. Though the former is listenable, the remix is eerie and quite strikingly a turn-off compared to the original.

One track that stands out is the ‘90s indie rock-influenced “I’m A Lady.” The contrast between this track and the one before it (“Unstoppable”) is such a large contrast, it comes as a sigh of relief. It’s not exotic like the rest of the album, but the hook is simple and catchy, like something you would hear while flipping through stations on a long drive.

Being her first album, it was expected to have a few mishaps, and “My Superman” is one of those. Her voice throughout the record is half a pitch away from sounding like a complete whining tantrum, and the melodic undertones are dull to the ear. I can’t imagine what the recording process would have been like for this one.

If there was one thing Santogold could have taken from M.I.A.’s musical handbook to success, it should have been her attention to cohesiveness. Santogold finds no platform for Santogold’s presence to stand on.

It’s one thing to say she has many influences invested in this project; it’s another to say the correct pieces fit together. Let’s hope Santogold can make simple concepts extraordinary the next time around.