Human is Brandy's first release on new label Epic, having split with Atlantic in 2005. This explains the four-year delay between work. In terms of production, while Timbaland didn't make it, there are some heavyweight credits. These include Rodney Jenkins (Spice Girls, Whitney Houston) and RedOne (New Kids on the Block, Akon), whose influence is reflected in fashionable dance tracks such as 'Piano Man'.
'Piano Man' is indeed backed up by a beat reminiscent of Usher's 'Love In This Club'. It's a trick all RnB artists worth their salt are exploring these days. And it works very well, somewhat masking Norwood's voice into dance-orientated loops over an over-powering beat.
First single 'Right Here (Departed)' is a a typically-produced contemporary track with a booming beat ensconced over a piano-driven upbeat rhythm. The production complements Brandy's soulful and powerful vocals and somewhat liberates them more so than on earlier work like 'The Boy Is Mine' and 'Sittin' On Top Of The World'. Brandy's new label clearly plays to the songstress' strengths.
The album features two interludes which feature Norwood emphasizing her thoughts on human existence and then detailing the problems of a long-distance relationship. The direction is mature (she is 29 now, you know), but the result isn't anything outside of the genre. 'Long Distance' focuses on the toils of such a union and features another secret production weapon - the strings, which kick in towards the end.
'Camouflage' is a ballad which once more plays to Brandy's strengths in the emotional vocal department. 'Torn Down' also follows in this mould, with a little bit of production flair thrown in for playability. Fans of the singer certainly won't be disappointed with this effort, though fans of the music might be disappointed to see that whilst the lyrics sound so personal, Brandy herself is only responsible for two of them (title track 'Human' and ender 'Fall', which includes our own Natasha Bedingfield on the credits).
'Human' is much more mature in tone than the other tracks written for her. It is a close-to-the-bone personal assessment. Stripped of all production tricks, it's amazing how a piece of personal input sounds so much more real than a whole album of penned tracks, albeit decent ones.
That, in the end, is the story of this album. It's modern RnB and a strong yet unspectacular return from a supremely talented singer.
Rating: 4/5