Love Is Red

The dusky-voiced David Poe continues to refine his edgy after-hours sound on his third outing, Love Is Red, at times crooning like a depressive version of mellow-jazz popster Michael Franks (this is a compliment; listen to the title track). He can get lyrically overwrought (”Moon”) and seems a little pissed off toward women, but he can also nail a song shut (”Doxology,” ”Love Won’t Last the Afternoon”). Intriguing and worth checking out. But next time, David, turn it up a bit.