It would have been irrational to expect
Jodeci
to make as big as splash with a 2015 album as they did with
Forever My Lady
. Since that 1991 debut, the group had a major ripple effect on their genre that had yet to cease when the group reconvened. Every R&B singer who portrayed himself as a lustful player, as well as those who were inspired merely by gorgeous ballads like "Come & Talk to Me" and "Love U 4 Life," from
R. Kelly
to
Trey Songz
, owes a lot to
. While
The Past, The Present, The Future
contains some references to the back catalog, as well as a pair of co-productions from
Timbaland
-- who got his start with
-- the album isn't overtly nostalgic. "Nobody Wins" features
B.o.B.
, who was a toddler in 1991 and has a much younger fan base, but the song was a bold choice for the album's first single. In stark contrast with commercial hits, it addresses domestic violence. Follow-up single "Checkin' for You" is more in line with '90s
, a balance between arrogance and romance with the type of harmonizing no one else can deliver. Most of the other songs -- everything was co-written and co-produced by
DeVante Swing
-- add to the album's legitimacy, and the past and present are indeed woven together throughout. The mostly piano-and-strings ballad "Jennifer," for instance, dates back to the group's formation; in its earliest incarnation, the song was sung by
JoJo
just before he was brought into the group. "Incredible," though a bit nasally in the chorus, interpolates
the S.O.S. Band
as effectively as "What About Us" drew from
Zapp
. No opportunistic cash-in on a legacy, this is a confident, refined return -- a necessary one in a field starving for group harmony singing. It's as solid as a reasonable longtime fan could expect. ~ Andy Kellman