Adele burst onto the scene in 2009 with her debut album 19, titled after her age at the time, and enjoyed some mainstream success with the single “Chasing Pavements”. Two years later, this British chanteuse has the rapt attention of both average listeners and music critics with her follow-up album 21.

The first single “Rolling In the Deep” starts the album off with a bang (or in this case, an emphatic kick drum), and is followed up with another vintage soul stomper “Rumour Has It”, what is sure to be the second single. Both songs blend straightforward soul with delta bluesy goodness. Add in some layered, rhythmic backup vocals (love, love, LOVE these), stir, and sip slowly. These songs are by far the strongest tracks on the album, and the most true to Adele’s trademark 60′s era vintage soul style. Although the songwriting on the remainder of the album is uneven, the engineering and mixing is impeccable, and Adele’s powerhouse voice is always at the forefront. Adele has said that she was influenced in part by the country music that her bus driver played for her, which is probably most evident on ballad “Don’t You Remember”. Other highlights of 21 are “He Won’t Go”, an ode to standing by your man with a thumping bass line reminiscent of Citizen Cope, and modern pop track “Set Fire to the Rain”.

Adele’s rich, resonant alto anchors each of these songs and fills them full of “Natural Woman” soulfulness far beyond her tender age. It’s clear that the producers also recognize this, and consequently give Adele plenty of space to make each song her own. What is so pleasantly surprising about Adele, though, is that she is never guilty of what my husband calls “oversouling”, a repeat offense for many divas (Christina, Mariah – I’m looking at you). Vocal riffs and ornamentations are never too long or overly gymnastic and leave the melody intact. As a listener, I really appreciate this. When I listened to 21 a second time, I loved catching little nuances in her expression of certain phrases. Divas, take note from this Brit: this is how you do it.

**I was not compensated for this review**