Duffy, "Endlessly" (Mercury)
On her 2008 debut, Duffy introduced herself as a Welsh ingenue with a retro-soul sensibility, with simple songs of heartbreak showing off her sweet, sandpaper-scuffed voice.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter expands her style and subject matter on her sophomore offering, "Endlessly," but somehow the result isn't as satisfying. With frothy 1980s and '90s dance beats mixed in with more soulful fare, it feels unfocused, as though Duffy isn't sure who she wants to be musically.
The opening track, "My Boy," is such happy, dance-y, early-'80s pop that it almost cries out to have a roller-skating routine choreographed to it. "Lovestruck" is a sparkly, synth-heavy dance song, and "Well, Well, Well" — where Duffy gets downright sassy — sounds like it's backed by a '90s club sample.
Co-written by veteran songwriter Albert Hammond and backed by The Roots, the tracks are solid, but they seem to add Duffy to an already crowded mix of dance-floor darlings like Britney Spears and Goldfrapp.
Duffy balances out the bouncier tunes with stripped down, slower songs — and this is where she really shines. On the title track, which opens with an acoustic guitar and the crackle of an old-fashioned record, she's as pained as Peggy Lee as she searches for a lost love. Duffy's voice takes center stage on other sad, string-heavy songs such as "Too Hurt to Dance" and "Don't Forsake Me."
On this mixed effort, Duffy reveals herself to be more a balladeer than a disco diva.
CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: While there's nothing as catchy as her debut single "Mercy" on the second album, Duffy comes close with "Girl," a '60s-sounding song that blends her unique voice with a groovy beat that invokes images of miniskirts and go-go boots.