Kulture Noir

She sings beautifully. She writes and composes. She speaks out against injustice. She makes her own out-there clothing. If ever a chanteuse came wrapped in a big shiny bow, it is South Africa's Simphiwe Dana. No matter that her cerebral brand of Afro-jazz hasn't quite made her the international sensation that her platinum-selling 2004 debut Zandisile and its more mannered follow-up The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street promised. Her cool, sophisticated sound is still indisputably world-class. Her ideas and her experiments are bold. There are no programmed beats, and barely any drums. But it's a shame – only a slight shame, mind you – that she hasn't been a bit bolder.

A host of top producers including the Grammy-winning Gordon ‘Commissioner’ Williams and DJ Awadi from Positive Black Soul have weighed to make this a slick, smooth affair. Laid-back grooves are underpinned by the jazzy guitar of Kunle Ayo and buoyed by the understated vocals of Dana: too often she comes across not as the woman to whom she's often compared – Miriam Makeba – but as a sort of South African Sade. Spare, melodic tracks such as the harmonica-backed ‘Ilolo’ and ‘Mayine’ (Let It Rain), driven by acoustic guitar and flute, have the same soothing effect. But while this album may similarly soundtrack a zillion dinner parties, it's the way she fuses the traditional rhythms of her eastern Cape childhood that make Kulture Noir worth repeated listening – traits we could have done with more of.