TLC

TLC are the second most successful girl group of all time (after the Spice Girls) and this record proves that their winning formula still works.

With the final TLC album, Chilli and T-Boz have crafted a conscious epilogue to their catalog and a love letter to their fans. It hits every style in their vast range and dignifies their career.

Throughout the album, Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins and Rozanda ‘Chilli’ Thomas work well together, backing each other up and calling in at the right points to create the complimentary layering and harmonies.

If the new songs are likable enough, none eclipse those of their peak. Luckily, TLC has always had as much to do with an emotional connection as with the music. Here, they stoke it in ways likely to give longtime fans a nice glow.

TLC doesn’t take any creative risks and, in doing so, ends up lukewarm and average — two words that would have never been used to describe TLC in their heyday. Perhaps the group could have bowed out more gracefully — and left its legacy untainted — without attempting to force this unnecessary sequel.

This album also feels more purposeful than the average reunion effort because it was crowdfunded by fans. Perhaps partly in deference to their generosity, remaining band members Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins and Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas don’t try anything too radical.