So Blu
Blu Cantrell is tired. Tired of no-good, wrong-doin',  sweet-talkin', always-cheatin', ever-schemin' men. Luckily for listeners, the  Providence, Rhode Island native (discovered by Arista CEO Antonio  "L.A." Reid) has decided to settle her scores in song. In the process,  she delivers a gorgeously heartfelt soul album that manages to avoidno-scrubs,bills-bills-billsclichés, and get down to the business of broken-heart healing.  Lacing scats into melismas and blues runs into R&B; riffs, this  torch-singing newcomer doesn't just take it to church with her debut: she  takes it to the dimly lit juke joint, the crowded club, and the smoky  underground cafe. Transitioning effortlessly from starry-eyed  breathlessness toEartha Kittgrowl,  to full-throttle, shiver-inducing wail, Cantrell incants catharsis with  haunting ballads like "That One," in which she muses upon finding a  soulmate, and "I'll Find a Way," on which she offers up a glorious,  show-stopping vocal transition out of the song's bridge that would doChaka Khanproud. Cantrell, the daughter of a jazz-singing mother, also manages to  succeed with up-tempo numbers here--"Hit 'Em up Style (Oops)," the  album's first single, is a jubilant revenge anthem, complete with an  infectious, finger-wagging, Charleston riff that should have the ladies  wiggling and their fellas checking themselves--and their wallets.--Sylvia W. Chan