Having debuted as a leader with an elusive 2010 date backed by the Robert Glasper Trio, followed seven years later by an album of atmospheric avant-soul, Kenneth Whalum opts to extend the desire line he tread with the latter for his third LP. Like 2017's Broken Land, this sequel of downcast, simmering, and at times elegiac ballads is an outlet for Whalum -- known for his work as a tenor saxophonist with Jay-Z, Maxwell, Mac Miller, and many others -- as a writer, singer, and producer. His reeds are heard on only four of the eight songs. They add conciliatory sweetness to the intro of "Burn," inflame "All I Need" with fraught curlicues, and function elsewhere as an underscoring layer. His voice is just as much an instrument. Not often does it project much louder than a murmur or bedside whisper. Still, virtually every lyric with close listening is comprehensible and also powerful. "Girl, is this what you want?," sung in withering falsetto, sounds both aggrieved and empathetic as it opens "Party," a gently rocking number that turns out to be more like a riposte. ("Get yourself together"; "Pour a drink for the only person who cares.") With wounded invocations of "mother, mother, mother" and "father, father, father," the opening "Prayer" unfurls like an intimate gospel twist on Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" and Funkadelic's "Cosmic Slop." Whalum sounds like he's trembling when he confesses, "You see my faith is torn/I know you've heard from me before." Even when the words evoke numbed alienation, involve grave terms, or warn without equivocation, Whalum and co-producer Qmillion keep the effect uniformly comforting and a little heady, like a stimulating salve. The material is illustrated with grace and restraint by drummer Jamire Williams, keyboardist Kris Bowers, and guitarist Adam Agati (those three are on everything), bassists Pino Palladino and Derrick Hodge, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, and xylophonist Joel Ross. That eye-popping crew stays in service to Whalum, who accepts and navigates his personal and interpersonal crises with weary if steadfast control. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

1		Prayer
2		All I Need
3		Party
4		Burn
5		Make Sure
6		Weeping Eye
7		Bombs
8		Constellation