Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Sean Hurley (guitar, keyboards, bass instrument); John "Jabb" Broussard (guitar, bass instrument); Phillip Todd (saxophone); Noel Langley (trumpet, flugelhorn); Neil Sidwell (trombone); Manny Patino (drums).

Audio Mixers: Ben H Allen; Nealhpogue; Jack Splash; Manny Marroquin; Dave Pensado; Soulshock.

Arrangers: Jack Splash; Karlin; Simon Hale; Soulshock.

With her sophomore album SOL-ANGEL & THE HADLEY ST. DREAMS, Solange Knowles is out to change the fact that she's best known as "Beyonce's little sister." The family connection obviously hasn't hurt her, but where her debut was a tepid, run-of-the-mill urban-contemporary offering, Solange's follow-up is a creative spray of day-glo color, proving that this artist has a confident, unique identity all her own.

Steeped in vintage R&B samples and a freewheeling aesthetic that borrows from jazz, blues, hip-hop, and electronica, SOL-ANGEL grooves, surprises, and seduces. Whether she's channeling Marvin Gaye ("Ode to Marvin") or the stripped-down Motown vibe of lead single "I Decided," or dabbling in hip-hop or electro, the disc is fun back to front. Help from the Neptunes, Cee-Lo, Mark Ronson, Q-Tip, Lil Wayne, and Bilal makes the package glitter, but it's Solange's quirkiness and exuberance that makes this one of the better R&B albums of 2008. minimize