Weather

Personnel: Meshell Ndegeocello; Chris Bruce, Deantoni Parks, Gabe Noel, Jay Bellerose, Benji Hughes, Keefus Ciancia.Audio Mixer: Ryan Freeland.Photographer: Charlie Gross.On the majority of Weather, Meshell Ndegeocello is supported by a core group that played on 2009's Devil's Halo: drummer Deantoni Parks, guitarist Chris Bruce, and pianist Keefus Ciancia. While Devil's Halo was co-produced by Ndegeocello and Bruce, this set was produced by Joe Henry, who was involved in the making of 1999's Bitter and notes in the liners here that he "pushed for songs to happen -- as much as possible -- as real-time 'live' performances." Compared to Devil's Halo, the set is a little more stripped-down with a slightly greater sense of spontaneity, and Ciancia dials down his "various soundscapes." There's tighter focus on romantic relationships, or maybe just one relationship, with a "you" addressed throughout on a spectrum of aching emotion that ranges from distress to desire. Radically different emoti