On songs like the space-folky ''Long Hard Road'' and the reggae-scented ''Babyfather,'' Sade exhales peerlessly while the boys behind her fluff one heck of a sonic pillow. Weary bones, rest here.

Soldier benefits from a divine sense of intimacy; Sade seems to be whispering secret thoughts directly into the listener’s ears.

"Soldier of Love" is unique in its confrontational tone, but it connects to the other best tracks on this album, which employ minimalism and the rules of cool to carefully reconstruct various musical styles.

The release is Sade's first new material in 10 years, but the act hasn't lost a beat.

They’ve plied a unique blend of jazz, world, pop and soul for more than a quarter-century, and now they add heavier beats, craftier production and a wider arsenal of sounds and styles.

There is gospel organ (Be That Easy) and a mid-tempo reggae-ish gait on Babyfather, but mostly Soldier of Love is as mournfully one-paced as previous Sade albums, with the same attention to texture and surface lustre but, alas, not to melody or moving autobiography.

Sure, the production on Soldier Of Love sounds a bit tougher and chunkier than the band’s early work, but the classic Sade vibe we love is still front and centre.

The qualities that millions of devoted fans enjoy about Sade are placed in new contexts on Soldier of Love.

These are songs that can sashay straight past you if you're not careful, but producer Stuart Matthewman (whose work with Maxwell sounds equally poured over) slips in subtle moments such as the twinkling percussion on Morning Bird and the slow-burn backing on opener The Moon And The Sky.

Elegantly downbeat, Soldier Of Love sparkles as a whole rather than as a collection of parts. [Mar 2010, p.107]

Sade has, as ever, fashioned an album that sounds both classic and current. [Mar 2010, p.91]

But mostly “Soldier of Love” presents Sade as a genre unto herself; after 25 years, she remains alluring and subtly rewarding, while still keeping the listener at a safe distance, as if she had even deeper secrets to guard.

Like its predecessors, it mimics the rhythms of a new relationship - it’s up one minute and down the next, loving in places and wounded in others - and it’s a rich and rewarding album, but only after multiple listens.

Soldier is sumptuously melancholy, exquisitely beautiful R&B, perfect for crying on a very expensive sofa.

Apart from the futuristic sound of the title track and a mini-tribute to Michael Jackson on "Skin," Soldier possesses the same timeless quality as any of the band's previous albums.

Soldier of Love offers listeners a rather narrow range of interest-- songs that (at their best) suggest strong feeling restrained by a fierce dignity-- but Sade remain the best at what they do.

Lovely listening.

Sade Adu and co return with more snoozy, expensively produced, quiet-storm soul. [Mar 2010, p.95]

Lacking rhythmic hypnotism and relatable most to those who are experiencing solitude created by romantic desertion, this is not your mother's Sade album.