Tweet: Southern Hummingbird

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

In the unseemly hasty American record-biz race to find "the new Aaliyah", it would seem that Charlene "Tweet" Keys has the inside running.

After all, like the late R&B princess, she's come from the Missy Elliott-Timbaland production axis and is a signing to Elliott's Goldmind label.

That connection can work wonders. Especially on the single Oops (Oh My), a steamy self-libidinous ode that undoubtedly will be a long stayer in the lapdancer charts. Call Me with its Indian flavourings neatly echoes Elliott's now-classic Get Ur Freak On. And the slow-drifting likes of Smoking Cigarettes, Best Friend - a duet with Prince sound-alike Bilal - and Drunk are the stand-outs among the late-night soul moods on offer. But there's some forgettable indifferent stuff among the balance. And Tweet's voice, while strong, needs that more distinctive material to really fly.

Label: Elektra