Meshell Ndegeocello, Devil’s Halo

Devil's Halo is probably the most romantically intimate and musically conventional collection from Ndegeocello thus far, but don't think that translates into standard-issue hearts, flowers and jingles. Always a distinctive maverick, the black, bisexual singer-songwriter, who turned 40 last year, says she wanted to create "music you can make with your hands," instead of the more polished, studio-driven material of her recent past. But neither her incisive wit nor her socio-cultural self-consciousness is compromised in the process. Not many love songs feature the tart observation at the center of "Lola," that "everyone thinks they're so f—ing special." And a song in honor of Ndegeocello's spouse (they were married in Canada), is called simply "White Girl" to tweak the haters who can't view the relationship beyond those rudimentary demographics.

Musically, the songs range from the reggae shuffle of "White Girl" to the ethereal shimmer of "Tie One On" and "Hair of the Dog," to the polymath rock-stutter of "Lola" and "Mass Transit," to the gilded folk of "Crying in Your Beer." Ndegeocello's vocals veer on a continuum between the breathy coo of Sade and the arch command of Joan Armatrading. The interplay is taut- — most of the songs were workshopped and then recorded with the same backing quartet — with Ndegeocello's bass work typically resonant throughout. The closest antecedent among her past work is Bitter but, as its title implies, Devil's Halo takes more time for nuance and duality. The opening song, "Slaughter," features the lyric, "She said she loved me/I ran away." The final song, "Crying In Your Beer," concludes with the plaint, "Don't let me die alone." In between lies similarly impressive emotional integrity.