Sexily straddling a cobalt blue chopper on the album’s cover, Stone takes listeners for a ride through the funkier, freer side of life, with a que sera attitude that’s as bold and brazen as it is wise and womanly. She slickly dismisses girlfriends gossiping about her man on the upbeat two-stepper “I Ain’t Hearin’ U,” and shrugs off haters with lady-like repose on the funky “I Don’t Care.”
“Tell Me” is even more sassy, a crunching electro-crunk beat setting the stage for Stone to deliver Auto-Tuned demands for shy guys to step up or fall back. Some will be shocked to hear Angie Stone and Auto-Tune in the same sentence, since she’s probably best known for soulful mid-tempos like “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” and “Brotha.” What’s unexpected is how much fun it is to hear her shed the ‘neo-soul’ skin and slip into a more modern and energetic R&B sound, one that seems to fit her to a tee.
Still, Stone’s at her best on sultry ballads like “Maybe” and “Why Is It?,” both beautiful songs with sumptuous background vocals that grab at heartstrings and don’t let go. Contemplative groovers are another forte: “Think Sometimes” seems and sounds like a sequel to “There’s No More Rain (In This Cloud),” and the Stargate-like synths of “Free” add a catchy, contemporary touch to an anthemic sista song. It’s hard to sound mature without losing your moxie, to be fresh without faking the funk, but on Unexpected, Stone makes it sound easy.
published on Okayplayer.com