Now

Maxwell

Three years after the scattered Embrya, new-soul prodigy Maxwell returns with Now, his most fully realized disc yet. While not as ambitious as D'Angelo or just plain flippin'-off-the-wall as Macy Gray, the singer-songwriter does claim a stance: acoustic-guitar-based, near-tone poems ("Sympton Unknown") and Kate Bush covers ("This Woman's Work") are hardly the stuff of your average pop-R&B love man. Maxwell's lush thickets of overdubbed vocals could stand as a fine listen on their own; the varied textures of the instrumental tracks make the flow that much more inviting. Steel guitar subtly fires "W/As My Girl," while a rock-influenced beat gives "Temporary Nite" a groove both choppy and slippery. Now's unity of feel and often pensive tone bring it a cohesive air. Even the potentially throwaway last track, "Now/At the Party," works as more than just an exercise in '70s-party groove. If the many brokenhearted plaints here were telling a story, it would provide a suitably happy ending. --Rickey Wright

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