The Light of the Sun Warner Bros***

When her Who Is Jill Scott?debut landed in 2000, the Philadelphian quickly became one of neo-soul's leading lights, a spoken-word performer who took easily to the deep soul shuffle. Since then Scott's attention has turned to acting, and while there have been a couple of albums, we've had little to match that first strike. The Light of the Sunharkens back to her debut with its earthy r'n'b vibes. Janelle Monae may have taken the sound to another dimension, but Jilly from Philly is more interested in recapturing past shades. Despite the overdone backwards glances ( Blessed, So In Love), Scott does much better when she takes chances: the oddball loops of Shame, the superbly streamlined All Cried Out Redux, and the spectacularly ambitious Le BOOM Vent Suite. More of this kind of experimentation would go very well with Scott's lyrical and vocal chops. See jillscott.com

Download tracks: Le BOOM Vent Suite, All Cried Out Redux