Little Jackie

Little Jackie's debut is kind of old-fashioned. There are the vintage beats, of course, de rigueur for neo-soul releases, and provided here by the duo's DJ half, Adam Pallin. Still, Jackie's retro is a bit, well, dated, and that might have something to do with Imani Coppola, who still sounds a bit steeped in the late-'90s scene she first broke into, frequently veering into the slightly monotonic, sing-songy terrain of Macy Gray (via Citizen Cope). Things get a bit fresher on the thinly veiled Amy Winehouse diss "Crying for the Queen" and the dripping-with-irony, prom-tastic "Black Barbie."