Les Nubians

The surprise breakthrough of Les Nubians' version of Sade's mellow and soulful ballad "The Sweetest Taboo" helped their American debut, Les Princesses Nubiennes, to achieve a higher position on the Billboard charts than any other French-language album in the previous decade. The sweet, seamless harmonies achieved by sisters Helene and Celia Faussart made an already hypnotic song intoxicating. So, it is no surprise that in their follow-up effort, One Step Forward, those harmonies sung in the same soft, rounded, African-inflected French language would charm in the same way. What seems less successful are the English-language efforts, especially the radio-friendly first single, "Temperature Rising," which features a stylish if somewhat out-of-place rap delivered by Talib Kweli that seems grafted on. The sisters' trademark smoothness is diminished when they sing in English, which becomes even more obvious on their reggae-flavored duet with Morgan Heritage. Here the sisters flow from English to French throughout the song, and you can almost feel them tensing up and straining whenever they switch. Thankfully, though, such stumbles are few and far between on the album. Recorded in Jamaica, One Step Forward as a whole has a lulling, laid-back, tropical feel that seems to effortlessly encompass jazz, African rhythms, R&B, pop, and electronic sounds. [EMI's 2003 reissue of One Step Forward includes a bonus DVD featuring remixes of "Makeda" and "Tabou" along with a documentary on the recording of the album, French and U.S. versions of the video of "Temperature Rising," and a gallery of photos.] ~ Stacia Proefrock, All Music Guide