We" – already a hit off the Booty Call soundtrack – is a gem that features Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's spacey, staccato sex promises and SWV's smooth seduction pouring over an obese bass and an irresistible drumbeat.

Even with their ultraproduced hip-hop jams, SWV are true to their R&B roots, i.e., they're obsessed with romance and – since it's not the '50s anymore – sex. Release Some Tension alternates between sweet yearning (on SWV-only tracks like the wistful "Rain" and the self-explanatory "Here for You") and hot-and-heavy panting ("Come and Get Some," with E-40, and "Give It Up," guest-starring Lil' Kim). The rise of the sexually liberated woman rapper mixes up the rapper-singer dynamic a bit, giving SWV a chance to collaborate with women who are upfront about their desires. Kim, Brown and Elliott detail the erotic fantasies that SWV, in their restrained sensuality, only hint at. Maybe next time the Sisters will take center stage and tell the whole story themselves. (RS 771)

NATASHA STOVALL