If the title is meant to hint at something bad, fans need not fear. It’s only the sophomore jinx Lianne La Havas has been stricken with. Not that her first album is good. That one does, however, have three or four stand-out songs sprinkled in among the snoozers. This new Blood set has a harder time pumping them out.

The soundscape is, again, vintage in nature. Havas makes deep soul music that could’ve just as well come from long before she was born. It’s her vocal melodies, essentially the songs themselves, that disappoint. Midnight and Tokyo are mild highlights, but What You Don’t Do is dumb and most of the others are bland.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015