The wait between
Algebra Blessett
's 2008 debut and 2014 follow-up was a mighty long time, but during it, she was featured on several songs by her contemporaries, including
Raheem DeVaughn
's "Nobody Wins a War,"
Anthony David
's "4Evermore,"
Esperanza Spalding
's "Black Gold," and
Vivian Green
's "Light the Universe." For her second album, she changed labels, from
Kedar
to
eOne
, and worked extensively with
Kwame Holland
and
LTMoe
, both of whom produced five of these songs, as well as
Shannon Sanders
,
Brett Baker
, and
Bryan-Michael Cox
.
Recovery
is dressed up like a theatrical tale regarding a rocky relationship and resilience in its wake, from
Blessett
's elaborate butterfly dress to a carefully plotted-out sequence of songs. The album begins with an "exordium" rather than an introduction, the title track has an "augment" rather than a part two, and several cuts sound less like isolated ideas, more suited for specific points in the story. The strength of the material tends to justify the scheme. Each one of the
Kwame
collaborations has at least a touch of dusty, classic style -- escalating string vamps and bittersweet horn lines -- with crunching and knocking drums and discreet synthesizer shading. He's the best creative match for her. Meanwhile, "Struggle to Be," produced by
Baker
, is a hypnotizing duet with lone guest vocalist
Q. Parker
, and "Forever" makes for an emotional high point with
Sanders
' slamming drums and drawn-out smears of organ.
never sounds as if she's trying particularly hard. Her expressions merely pour out, making it easy to overlook her skill. While 2008's
Purpose
was enjoyable, this is more focused and has serious repeat-play quality, as if
knew exactly what she wanted to do and did it to the fullest. ~ Andy Kellman