When Norah Jones released her debut album in 2002 - the multi-award winning, multi-million selling Come Away With Me - her main challenge was to shirk the shadow that her famous father (sitar maestro Ravi Shankar) had cast over her. The album's colossal success ensured victory on that count; at the age of 22, Jones was the most championed female singer in the charts. Indeed, it was her soft, velvety croon that excited most, and the fact that she had written few of the songs on her debut was an insignificant aside. What's more, since the lofty heights of the jazz-lite Come Away With Me, and sophomore country-influenced effort Feels Like Home, she's maintained healthy sales as well as a healthy network; side projects with The Peter Malick Group and alt-country enterprise The Little Willies maintained her profile even when she wasn't in the starring role. Now back with her third solo album Not Too Late, Jones is presumably out to prove that she can do more than just the laid-back piano ballads that made her popular. Produced by long-time collaborator Lee Alexander, it's also the first time that Jones has had her name on the writing credits of every song on the album, which allegedly gives the material a 'darker' edge. In reality, it sounds no different to anything else she's done. Though there are a couple of acceptable tracks (the jazzy, '20s cabaret plod of Sinkin' Soon, the tumbling piano of Not My Friend), Jones has in no way, shape or form pushed any boundaries, tried anything different or stepped outside her comfort zone. My Dear Country does attempt a political commentary ("Nothing is as scary as election day"), which promptly falls flat due to its bland piano-recital backing and cliched lyrics. Her voice is certainly distinctive, but it's also consistently boring - as are the vast majority of the invariable tracks (options include country undertones, jazz undertones, or, err.. both). Her defenders may argue that she's merely doing what she does best; but quite frankly, Pat Kenny reading the shipping forecast would be more thrilling than having to listen to this tedious claptrap again.