With Mariah and Whitney growing more terrifying by the day, you might begin to wonder where fellow ‘90s diva Toni Braxton has been hiding out. She’s been in Vegas, mostly, and on the Dancing With The Stars tour. On the evidence of her sixth album, she’s clearly keen on getting. er, ‘down wiv the kids’. Typical of the record is ‘Hero’, which shamelessly replicates Timbaland’s trancey synths from the Justin Timberlake hit ‘My Love’.
Elsewhere, lacklustre jingle ‘Wardrobe’ leaves me wondering if the world really needs a song that lumps men and Palazzo pants together in the same metaphor (“I’m redoing my wardrobe/ I’ve had enough/ I’m gonna fill up my closet/ with brand new love”).
Still, I suppose the Maryland lass is due some kudos for not letting the cardiac analogies get out of control – the lyrics on title-track ‘Pulse’ are in rather better taste, even if the tune itself is about as exciting as the Dublin Bus timetable.
‘Make My Heart’, with its confident hip hop groove and a horn hook that calls to mind Beyoncé’s ‘Crazy In Love’, is a mega dance-floor success in waiting. Others to download include the happily tribal ‘Lookin At Me’ and single ‘Hands Tied’, which contains more than a few seductive flashes of vintage ‘90s Toni.
The bottom line? ‘Make My Heart’ aside, there’s nothing on Pulse to rival 2000 hit ‘He Wasn’t Man Enough’ (don’t even think about pining for another ‘Unbreak My Heart’). Granted, Braxton’s sultry contralto sounds superb throughout. However, her soaring vocals aren’t enough to save the 70% or so of the album occupied by dud songs. And besides, Braxton’s lower register can be unbearably grating (see ‘Woman’ and ‘If I Have To Wait’).
The only thing Pulse proves is that Miss Braxton still has one, and stand-out tracks notwithstanding, that’s where the value ends.