Hear Me Out - Keyshia Cole, Crystal Bowersox

All hearts, little life is the problem plaguing Keyshia Cole’s stodgy fourth album, one rich in soulful confessionals but without everlasting beats. Single “I Ain’t Thru” is so dead on arrival – think of a blander Mary J. Blige – that even magic-making rapper Nicki Minaj, who can elevate just about any collaboration, can’t send it into survival mode.

“Tired of Doing Me” sounds like Blige leftovers too, a sound Cole wisely resisted on her last studio album, A Different Me, which went for a sexier, dance-funk-soul amalgam. Without that singularity to distinguish her from her peers, Cole’s the kid who’d rather fit in than stand out. Look to “Last Hangover,” and there’s super producer Timbaland. Look to “Thank You,” and there’s the stock song for the Lord. Too much of it’s forgettable, save for a few golden moments: “Take Me Away,” a snappy groove that could’ve easily fit on her last CD; “If I Fall in Love Again,” with vocal match Faith Evans; and “Sometimes,” a gentle softie about pushing on that perfectly frames her vulnerable voice. Singing from a real place that never feels filtered isn’t her problem. But a body needs more than a heart.