Love the Woman

Following two Top Ten R&B albums with husband Kenny Lattimore, Chanté Moore goes alone for the first time since 2000's Exposed. Her fifth solo album, Love the Woman, won't catch anyone off guard, especially those who heard the Moore/Lattimore albums. It sounds like a natural extension of Exposed, in fact, even though it clearly had a lower production budget (she's now on an independent) and is not aiming at the pop chart; while Tim & Bob, "Tricky" Stewart, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Jermaine Dupri collaborated on Exposed, the names here — like George Duke and Raphael Saadiq — aren't quite as mainstream-oriented. Moore switches between directly addressing issues within mature relationships and reflective material that is often closer to life coaching than soul searching. There's enough space left for some seduction, too, but since many of the slow-pulse productions run together, with little to distinguish themselves from one another, it can take a couple listens to grasp which is which. It doesn't help that the only truly uptempo track, "Can't Do It," does not fit into this smooth and polished set in any way, with its vinyl crackle, overbearing horn blurts, touches of unnecessary vocal effects, and lyrics Moore does not seem to be feeling all that much.