It’s getting harder and harder to remember Christina Aguilera as the sweet, innocent child wearing her Disney-issued pastel sweaters in “The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.”

Then again, it’s getting harder to remember when she wore any clothes at all.

With her latest release, Aguilera attempts to remove any remnants of a good-girl image that may be left over from her multi-platinum self-titled album, and the evidence is obvious before the shrink-wrap is even removed from the CD.

Standing before a white background with her hair extensions covering her topless body is the young pop princess. Is it a change in musical styles or just an attempt to shock the public into listening?

Even on the first track of the album, the image of a young singer who had to grow up too fast shines through. With lyrics like, “Sorry you can’t define me/ Sorry I break the mold/ Sorry that I speak my mind/ Sorry I don’t do what I’m told,” Aguilera seems to be pleading with the audience to separate her from the rest of the pop crowd.

Too bad she’s still following the same sex-plus-rebellion-equals-adulthood formula Britney used for her album a year ago.

The first single from the album, “Dirrty,” does even less to support her claims of maturity. The song comes across as a last-minute attempt to draw her younger fan base into her new so-called “adult” sound.

There are redeeming qualities to this album, however. Aguilera’s amazing voice has always been her strong point, and this album is no exception. Most of the Mariah Carey-esque vocal gymnastics are gone, replaced by a more subtle, sensual tone.

One of the more positive outcomes of Aguilera’s attempt at maturity is her newfound ability to sing about more meaningful topics. Songs like “Beautiful” and “I’m OK” prove a pop singer can still convey a serious message that doesn’t involve sex or partying.

With “Stripped,” Aguilera has laid the groundwork for a successful career as an adult in pop music. Unfortunately, her candy-coated past doesn’t seem to have completely disappeared.

— Aaron Ladage

You knew they wouldn’t stay apart for long.

Just a little over two years after the band went on hiatus, Phish releases “Round Room” and proves it never missed a beat.

In fact, the time between this album and 2000’s “Farmhouse” is roughly the same amount of time the band spent between “Farmhouse” and 1998’s “The Story of the Ghost.” It seems the break was a good thing, as each member of the band got a prolific amount of creative side project work out.

But back to the new Phish. This album is for the fans — recorded in four days with more jam than structure, this is closer to a live recording than a studio album. The sound quality isn’t the best, especially with the drums, but it’s hard to tell if the band could have recaptured the album if it had been reworked.

“Round Room” starts off with an 11-minute jam, then moves on to a list of 12 songs that runs from stripped-down — but never simple — jazz to arena rock.

The tracks don’t always mesh together, and a few don’t really have a place on the album — including, interestingly, the title track. Also distracting are the few annoying sound effects the band tried to throw between songs. The rest of the album, though, is a strong mix of a new Phish sound.

The standout track is the dynamic “Walls of the Cave,” which moves from anthemic rock to the most delicate of Phish sounds, with one of the most solid song structures the band has produced.

“Mock Song” hits with a strong, straight-forward jam, and “46 Days” rocks with organ-infused funk. “Thundercloud” does just the opposite, sanding down all of the non-essential noise for a light jazz feel.

It is impossible to really describe the album on paper — unless of course you include the nonsensical lyrics. It is possible, however, to imagine the band members sitting in the studio, jamming together and not worrying about the thousands of people waiting to hear them live again.

That’s what “Round Room” is about.

— Jeff Mitchell