Sade

With her child-rearing band mates spread across the globe, and her professed contentment with the seclusion of her north England home, it's hardly surprising that our world has aged ten years since Sade's last studio foray. But just as the singer's unique beauty has remained unchanged through that period, so too has the band's sound, as evident in new disc Soldier of Love. While not exactly picking up where 2000's breathtaking Lover's Rock left off, the new record strolls plaintively down the path well worn by its predecessors, and the response may be slightly more apathetic. The soothing, lovelorn spirit of cuts like "The Moon And The Sky" and "In Another Time" is instantly familiar, though almost to a fault, while the record's title track, with its dated guitar injections and military drum rhythm, is peppered with ideas that lost their steam two decades ago. But like a steaming plate of comfort food, Sade's ability to bring your heart rate and mental gears to meditative levels remains pleasantly intact, even while the creativity may be wanting.