US duo Floetry's debut album was an unexpected guest on the shortlist for the 2003 Mercury Music Prize, but not on the evidence of its song writing quality. Follow-up Flo'Ology, then, has a bit to live up to.

Despite the dubious title the early signs are good, the music into its stride immediately with a fusion of silky smooth vocals and rapping that has the merest hint of street attitude - a useful combination. Lines like "wanna hit the solar of your plexus" promise much on the lyrical front too, the two girls' voices interlocking perfectly. The single Supastar is better still, enlisting rapper Common for a cameo that gives them more of a cutting edge.

However there are signs of deterioration in Closer that begin to affect, but not completely mar, the rest of the album. These two girls have gorgeous singing and rapping voices - nicely understated, not too rich and overbearing - but too many tracks begin with a low register spoken word intro, which at first comes across as inward looking but then begins to breed what sounds like indulgence. Closer works as there's an edge to the spoken word, the music soulful yet sharp, but Feelings, despite its obvious profundity, takes the softly softly approach too far. Sometimes U Make Me Smile does the same, projecting a worthiness that doesn't sit well with what's gone before.

That said there are still many good things on this record, and the girls' willingness to experiment with overtones of dancehall secures the curiously upbeat album closer Waiting In Vain, opening up nicely in the chorus. I'll Die, too, makes a statement with its soft yet regimented vocal delivery, a strict license against improvisation working well. The duo also show that making a sexy track needn't be about the obvious come-on, more subtle implications, as Lay Down proves, whispering its way through various rooms in the house with rather more appeal than the cleaning rota.

Neither of the duo have the most powerful of singing voices, but that's not meant as a criticism, more an observation that they work this to their advantage in the music, with My Apology a good example of their slightly darker take on modern RnB, no concern with bling but more of a focus on feelings and attitudes. It's a shame they overindulge on the breathy musings, but their overall quality still manages to shine through.

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Mercury Prize 2009 nominees