Wikked Lil' Grrrls

Esthero was dropped from Work in late 1999 due to poor sales of her first album Breath from Another, and the label's absorption into Epic Records.[2] She eventually signed with Reprise Records.[3] Orlando Puerta, marketing director at Reprise Records noted: "Somehow she persevered, and she is special enough for us not to let go of her." Esthero began writing material for her second studio album before her departure from SME. It took over four years and in late 2003 she started recording sessions. In November 2004 a six-song promotional EP entitled We R in Need of a Musical Revolution was released. It features three tracks not included on the album: "The Lull-a-Bye", "I Drive Alone" and "Amber & Tiger's Eye".

The album was noted for its diversity of musical styles. Vibe described the album's style as "an alternately futuristic and vintage soundscape of reggae, jazz, hip hop, and electronica."[4] AllMusic's Johnny Loftus commented that the album falls "in a drifty place between modernized trip-hop (and) mild R&B."[5] Regarding the album's stylistic eclecticism, Esthero stated in an interview with The Washington Post that her "taste is so vast it ends up like a premixed iPod shuffle."[6]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(57/100)[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment Weekly[9]	B-
Slant Magazine[10]

The album received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57, based on 8 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Johnny Loftus of Allmusic felt that Wikked Lil' Grrrls is a "personal statement, if not a labor of love", however considers that the album "occasionally gets lost between songwriting, thematics, and stylistic flow". He gave the album 2.5 stars out of 4 and noted "We R in Need of a Musical Revolution", "Everyday Is a Holiday (With You)" and "If Tha Mood" as album's highlights.[11] In extremely negative review from Splendid magazine, Mike Meginnis said: "A towering monument to Esthero's overpowering sense of self satisfaction, this mess overstays its welcome and abuses whatever attention you're willing to spend on it. In short, it's not a career highlight".

Some critics were more favorable in their assessments of the album. Sal Cinquemani, of Slant Magazine, was highly positive in his review of the album, awarding it four out of five stars and commenting that album "establishes her as the progenitor of what could be called electro-ethno-pop". Billboard magazine also was positive, calling the album "another eclectic musical trip". Rolling Stone gave the album three stars out of five and called the album "lyrically feisty and stylistically expanded".

The album gave Esthero her first album chart entry in the US. The album debuted at number 24 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart dated July 16, 2005.[13]

The title track appeared on the soundtracks to Miss Congeniality 2 and John Tucker Must Die, a season five episode of Smallville, and was used in an early promotion for the TV shows Desperate Housewives, and Las Vegas.[15] "Everyday Is a Holiday (With You)" was featured in the 2005 film Monster-in-Law, and was used in a season two episode of the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.[15]

Adapted from AllMusic[16] and album booklet.[17]

• Esthero discography