Balance

On her third album, singer Sara Tavares looks as much to her Cape Verde heritage as to her Portuguese upbringing, using her acoustic guitar and a variety of exotic percussion instruments to create a modified acoustic African pop sound over which she sings her melodic songs, which, if the English summaries are to be believed, concern themselves largely with optimistic, generalized expressions of love. Tavares has a jazzy vocal approach that at times recalls Rickie Lee Jones or Norah Jones, and her music has a light touch even when she speeds the tempo for a dance track such as "Poka Terra" (a duet with Melo D) or "Novidadi." She seems to be aiming at a hybrid approach that is neither strictly European nor African, and she largely succeeds, even if the music is more pleasant that substantive.