The recurring theme of the trio The Family Stand's new album, Connected is love--finding love, losing love, making love, and wanting love. Although the album is rhythmically original and lyrically daring, Connected is filled with many songs about a cliched theme, causing it to fall short of its real promise. Lead singer Jacci McGhee's voice is like a chameleon, as she jumps from emotion to emotion in a flash. V. Jeffery Smith and Peter Lord, on instrumentals as well as vocals, create a unique beat, which makes The Family Stand different than many bands, but not that much different.

The Family Stand is a '90's band that has been deeply influenced by the mixture of soul and funk music that occurred from 1968-1975. The members of the band try to make music that breaks boundaries and is unable to be pigeonholed. Lord, singer/songwriter as well as producer, claims that The Family Stand is trying to reach its listeners in as many ways as possible through its music, aiming to move both the body and the mind, a goal which is achieved in Connected. One of the group's main objectives is to break through musical limits, and although Connected does succeed in weaving together different styles of music (such as pop, funk, acoustic and soul) most of its songs tend to be superficial. While the music may be original, the lyrics and subject matter, are, on the whole, trite.

"Butter," a song that intertwines the classic motifs of food and sex is by far one of the more daring songs on the album. "I'm salty you're creamy/let's get us some/strawberry jam/to spread on your biscuits/my sweet country ham..." croons Lord, while McGhee repeats the chorus, "Ooh, ooh, my butter" over and over. Whether the butter she is singing of is metaphorical or literal is hard to decipher from this song, as it moves between the raunchy and the mundane quite freely. Some of its lyrics are downright sappy, such as "If love needs a reason/then mine is/I ain't been the same/since I met you baby." However, the sensual culinarity of "Butter," sandwiched between boring lyrics, does not get lost--if anything, it reaches a boiling point and turns explosive with an excellent use of pop instrumentals. "Butter" may be overtly sexual and superficial, but it does not melt away.

However, not all of the songs on Connected are quite as shallow as "Butter" or "Keepin' You Satisfied," the album's energetic opener, one of the better songs. Though not a profound theme, the first track is driven by a great beat. Some of the songs on Connected deal with contemporary social issues. A song that addresses the problem of racism as well as the humane spirit of the black community, "What Must I do Now?" stands out because it is a plea against racism and injustice. It is a song with a social conscience, and not empty sensuality. It also makes a great use of the acoustic guitar, unlike most of the other songs on the album, which use a electric pop. The lyrics are bitter, and Smith's vocals are emotionally wrenching--he reverts from sadness to anger to thoughtfulness to despair and even happiness, while his deep, hoarse voice conveys all those feelings beautifully. "What Must I do Now?" is a breath of fresh air on Connected, as it is a serious song that demands an answer to a complicated, painful question from its listeners. McGhee and Lord are also vocalists on this track, making it truly an effort from the whole group.

"What Must I do Now?" is split into two parts, both of which tell a story--the first part is a general statement against racism and the camaraderie found within the black community, while the second part tells the story of the deceased rapper Tupac Shakur's life. The lyrics of part one of "What Must I do Now?" are extremely powerful: "What must I do now/be your jester/fight your wars/pimp your women/be your whore/write the same songs I've sung before," wails Smith in anger before he changes venues and launches into a description of the black community as ." ..Wonderful/so beautiful/the ways we try to dull the pain." The lyrics seem almost to flow more like poetry than music.

Part two of "What must I do now?," the story of Tupac Shakur, is equally moving, opening with the day that Shakur was born to a motherwho was just released from prison. The song goeson to speak about Shakur's growing up fast,because of the absence of his father and hismother's drug addiction. This part of "What must Ido now" has a haunting bridge, sung by McGhee,which really makes it stand out. However, thesecond half of the song does not completelycanonize Shakur, but rather shows his dual nature,as both a hero and a criminal. "Are you arevolutionary/are you playing thug/are you all thecontradictions/...well the truth is that youalways like to play with fire" is a phrase fromthe song which clearly shows that Shakur was acomplex human being. The profundity and beauty of"What Must I do Now?"--as well as the underlyingbitterness--makes it the best song on the album.The second half of "What Must I do Now?" is alsoreprised at the very end of the album.

Unfortunately, not enough of the songs onConnected are as exceptional as "What MustI do Now?" The tracks "Fienin," "You're Mine" and"More and More" do not show the insighfulness northe talent displayed on both parts of "What Must Ido Now?" Those three songs revert back to theboring obsession with love, particularly physicallove, with which the album is riddled. If only TheFamily Stand tackled a range of themes besideslove as in "What Must I do Now?" Connectedwould be a spectacular album