Lalah Hathaway - Self Portrait

On her fifth album, Lalah Hathaway continues to straddle the line between R&B and jazz. Self Portrait, which was released in the U.S. on June 3, 2008, has the laid-back sophistication of a jazz album, but the structure and instrumentation of an R&B album. This is both good and bad: the album's casual demeanor results in some good bedroom music, but at the same time, there's little about the album that can really be savored when not in the boudoir. In other words, Self Portrait is perfect mood music when sharing intimacy, but otherwise is a little dull.

Of all her albums so far, Self Portrait is definitely Lalah Hathaway's most revealing. This is, according to her, the first album where she had a strong hand in the entire project from start to finish, including developing the concept, sequence and selection of the songs and the session musicians used.

Many of the tracks have very personal, cathartic lyrics, such as the album's first single, "Let Go," where she sings about the need to not hold onto the past and to move forward in life. And on the apparently autobiographical "Little Girl," she sings about a "little girl in a big world, hiding in the shadows of the light." Another lyrically excellent song is "Learning To Swim," where Lalah sings about dealing with a broken relationship. The odd thing though, is that although this is her most personal work yet, Lalah's vocals are very detached and relatively unemotional. On a few tracks she even seems to be just going through the motions.

It's a strange combination: highly personal and meaningful lyrics, couple with nonchalant, non-emotive vocals. And its the lack of emotion that ultimately drags the album down: if Lalah doesn't seem to have her heart in the songs, then why should the listener? So despite being a very solid singer, as well as the daughter of a bona fide music legend - the late, great Donny Hathaway - Lalah doesn't seem to have the fire and desire that defines great singers. Self Portrait is a good album with plenty of nicely arranged midtempo tracks that are perfect for the bedroom. But overall, the album lacks enough compelling moments to fully capture you.