Picks and Pans Review: New Beginning

Update Monday April 29, 1996 01:00 AM EDT Originally posted Monday April 29, 1996 01:00 AM EDT

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Sisters with Voices

The love songs that dominate this sophomore set suggest that SWV and their various producers have spent much of the three years-plus since It's About Time, the trio's multi-platinum debut, with eyes trained on the charts. Perhaps they haven't been paying close enough attention: New Beginning is also the title of Tracy Chapman's current disc.

Obviously, the road less traveled is not the route of choice for this R&B girl group. The same old sweet nothings fill these tunes, and the hour-long album drags, in the words of one song title, "On and On." Let TLC bring on risky, risqué funk and Total pump hip-hop beats and spread harmonies with bad-girl flair. SWV would rather fine-tune the catchy, lightweight soul of It's About Time than dare live up to their new CD's title. (RCA)