As her body of work ages with much grace – last year actually marked the 20th anniversary of her superb debut Plantation Lullabies – it is easy to forget that Ndgeocello's growth as a multi-instrumentalist-vocalist is in line with her development as a songwriter-producer. Stylistically, she has roamed far and wide from her home territory of soul-funk-go-go, to the extent that whatever genre a particular composition might bring to mind matters little. It is now to be expected that a song might lean towards jazz, folk, rock or Afro-electronica, and still, crucially, retain Ndegeocello's distinctive melodic character, which is a conversational, whispery form of phrasing that suggests she wants you to lean close to her to catch every slightly muted word. For the most part introspective and inquisitive of today's social mores, Comet… does not have the instant appeal of 2007's The World Has Made Me The Man of My Dreams or 2011's Weather, two jewels in her discographical crown. But its highlights match anything she has yet recorded. While the subtle country blues resonances on several tracks are effective it is on the glistening dub groove of ‘Forget My Name’, ‘Modern Time’ and the title track that Ndegeocello hits creative heights, her taut, incisive bass cushioning and propelling the whole ensemble. Otherwise there are dreamscapes and lyrical provocations aplenty to remind us that the comfort woman is not for compromise.