Two years since her debut album ‘Goodies’ dropped, the Princess of Crunk returns with a new-found confidence, oozing sex appeal with ‘Ciara: The Evolution’.

Gone is the shy, suggestively sexual Ciara of ‘Goodies’; the star of ‘The Evolution’ is clearly in control of her own destiny, and well aware of the affect her breathy vocals have on her male fans.

Right from the jump, Miss Harris draws listeners in with the crunk-tastic ‘That’s Right’ featuring Lil’ Jon – proving she can still get the party started in true Ciara style. The dramatic strings of her new single ‘Like A Boy’ follows, which sees the 21-year-old flip the script on her lover boy and play him “like a toy”. An instant radio hit, this track has lifted Ciara’s profile as a true performer – her turns in the accompanying video alone do well in tantalising viewers awaiting to catch a glimpse of the Texas native live in action.

As with her last album, ‘The Evolution’ features top-notch production from the finest beatmakers – from Rodney Jerkins and Dallas Austin to The Neptunes and Jazze Pha. And with writing credits going to the songbird herself, this sophomore set is an ‘evolution’ of sorts.

The heavy basslines, futuristic electro beats and smooth hooks continue throughout the album, with highlights including last year’s club hit ‘Get Up’ with Chamillionaire, ‘I Proceed’, on which Ciara returns to her Janet Jackson-like soft, airy vocals, and ‘Bang It Up’, where the Princess underlines her single (and legal) status: “What’s the deal/ I’m 21/ I’m legal hey/ and I’m free to run.” Nice…

Ciara also teams up with 50 Cent for the sweet ‘Can’t Leave ‘Em’, while will.i.am provides the backing for the pop-soul joint ‘Get In, Fit In’ - but the hot beat is lost on the below par lyrics, leaving you distinctly unsatisfied.

The proposed next single, ‘My Love’, is a good mid-tempo song about a lost love, on which she sings: “Boy you had a keeper/ Didn’t know how to treat her/ Should have felt a little deeper/ And now you’re gonna miss my love” – a message to her ex, Bow Wow, perhaps? Who knows… What is clear however, is that Princess C isn’t dwindling on her failed relationship; she’s moving on, because as she wisely states herself, “life is what you make it. You determine your destiny.”

Slow jams have never been Ciara’s strong point, but cuts like ‘Promise’ and ‘Make It Last Forever’ are the better of those featured on ‘The Evolution’, while the self-pitying of ‘So Hard’ and ‘I Found Myself’ are less pleasing.

Ciara’s sophomore LP shows a real growth from the adolescence of ‘Goodies’, but she fails to fully evolve into the artist she clearly has the potential to be. Yet, as she defines in the sleeve notes, an evolution is a ‘gradual process’, and although she doesn’t possess the vocal strength of Beyoncé, she sure knows how to keep the clubs happy.