Despite Sophie B. Hawkins' uncanny ability to write hooky pop songs, most listeners don't know her beyond her 1992 hit "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover." Her second album, "Whaler," fell flat and her third may do likewise. The songs on "Timbre" are lush and listenable, but they lack the kind of punch that could return Hawkins to the charts.

Hawkins' voice has turned more reedy with time; here, she sounds like a mellower Stevie Nicks, especially on ballads like "Strange Thing" and "Nocturne." But her musical tastes haven't strayed far from the lush, approachable melodies of her previous works. The jazzy "Bare the Weight of Me" is a nice, if brief, diversion.

Another diversion is "Darkest Childe," which will earn Hawkins her first parental advisory label for its explicit -- and ocassionaly embarassing -- ode to a misfit youth. Still, she shows herself a skilled writer, as on "Your Tongue Like the Sun in My Mouth." "I rode his joy like a child on a merry-go-round," she croons. "I shot like a free bird in flight."

As pleasant as "Timbre" is to hear, Hawkins' music still lacks the substance that could turn this good album into a great one.

-- Beth Winegarner

This article was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle.