Laura Mvula's Sing to the Moon was an audacious opening set, a collection brimming with heart and soul as well as out-there jazz, gospel and r'n'b trimmings. Before the former schoolteacher gets around to her second album, there's this curio to mark time and push sales. A rerecording of the Birmingham native's debut by a 52-piece orchestra at Abbey Road, the album is smooth rather than edgy, a rephrasing and resetting of the original's leftfield parameters towards safer, more middlebrow waters. While orchestras can swing with swagger, the prevailing metronome here makes Mvula sound a mite colourless and bland. Sing to the Moon and Like the Morning Dew retain some of their lustre, but for the most part Mvula is aiming for the middle of the road rather than shooting for the stars. lauramvula.com Download: Sing to the Moon, Like the Mountain Dew