SYSTEM - SEAL
Somewhere between brain music and body music sits Seal. His enlistment of former dance/electronic artist Stuart Price to produce his fifth full-length doesn’t represent a move in one of those directions. After Seal’s singular baritone — which is getting even more pleasingly throaty as he ages — the songs are the focus here. Some hum and build like good club tracks (”Loaded”); some launch as acoustic guitar pieces and pick up steady kick drums along the way (”Dumb,” album standout “Rolling”). But they’re all melodious, lyrical and as intimate as any singer/songwriter’s sparser work. Even a duet with wife Heidi Klum (”Wedding Day”) is more sweet than saccharine.
