DUFFY

Endlessly

[Mercury]

Twenty-six-year-old Welsh singer Duffy created a stir with her 2008 debut Rockferry, eliciting a wave of comparisons to Amy Winehouse. This fine follow-up won’t rid her of that tag entirely, but it does edge Duffy closer to a stylistic identity of her own. Half the disc embraces the retro R&B style that shaped Duffy’s debut, while the other boasts a Euro-chic pop sound more akin to Kylie Minogue. Standout moments among the latter group include “Well Well Well,” a funky dance-pop tune fitted with punchy brass, and “Lovestruck,” a smooth club track laced with synth swirls and a vaguely Middle Eastern vibe. The R&B-oriented “Too Hurt to Dance” is a beautifully arranged torch song that would have struck slow-dance gold in the Brill Building era, while the title track is a candlelit, lightly orchestrated ballad. Duffy’s voice—supple, velvety and soulful beyond her years—holds it all together. –Russell Hall