Complex Simplicity  August 10, 2004 Rhythm & Blues, Contemporary
R&B, Urban  Album Review  The knock against neo-soul is that it
looks desperately to the past instead of the present or future,
having disconnected somewhere in the late '70s, just before the
wicked drum machines and synthesizers came around to siphon the
soul out of R&B. Pop-oriented R&B is routinely faulted for being
insincere and inauthentic, full of flash and bleating-goat
ululations. New R&B artists in 2004 tended to be slotted into
one of the two categories, either next to Jill Scott and "the
next D'Angelo," or next to Usher and "the next Beyoncé." Singer
and songwriter Teedra Moses sees the good in both sides,
realizing that there must be some people out there who are
thrilled by modern-day hip-hop-minded productions but crave
lyrical content that goes deeper than memorable hooks and
identikit platitudes about desire, romantic drama, and soul-
searching. Just as importantly, Moses and primary collaborator
Paul Poli -- who also teamed up to