Dwele - Sketches of a Man

Over the course of his career, Detroit R&B artist Andwele "Dwele" Gardner has shown that although he's a young singer, he's got a mature soul. On his third full-length album, he continues making music for young, educated urbanites who enjoy the arts, poetry readings and maybe even a nice glass of brandy every now and then. Of all his albums to date, Sketches of a Man (released June 24, 2008 in the U.S.) is perhaps his most well-rounded. Although his vocal style can still be too sedate at times, his own songwriting and the music he's chosen are both improvements over past efforts.

Unlike either of Dwele's previous two albums, Sketches of a Man has more than just a couple of songs that are potential hits. The track people are most familiar with right now is the clever first single, "I'm Cheatin,' " in which he sings about having a socially conservative woman who's got an entirely different side to her personality - so much so that when he's with her wilder side, it's like he's cheating. There are a handful of other gems on the album though, like his melancholy remake of the Bobby Caldwell classic "Open Your Eyes," (aka the "there is a light that shines special for you and me" song) the lusty hook-up song "If You Want To," and "A Few Reasons (Truth Pt. 2)," an ode to a lover: "You bring out the youth in an old soul, baby," he sings on the song.

The album's one major flaw is that Dwele's smooth, sedate voice sometimes gets overshadowed by the music on various songs, most notably "Free As A Bird" and "Feels So Good." And on other songs, Dwele's voice sounds more like a smooth jazz singer than an R&B one, and the vocals lack the required passion and/or energy, such as on unorthodoxly-arranged and strangely-mixed "Shady," a song about a two-timing woman.

Strangely, there are five songs on the album that are under two minutes long, and one that's 2:01 in length. All deserved to be fleshed out more, while some longer songs probably should have been left off the album. But overall, there are more hits than misses on Sketches of a Man; it's a tasteful album filled with romance, although there are moments where the album's quiet moments might be too quiet.