Mike Benet | C+

The title of the latest effort from R&B singer Eric Benet is certainly fitting; Lost In Time is loaded with a retro sound taken straight from the '70s — stringing together some disco, a little bit of funk and the crooner's signature silky-smooth soul ballads. Despite its obvious influences, the end result comes off as rather bland, generic and certainly not sexy.

Benet's range of feelings on this disc is about as superficial as it gets: he's in love, he's heartbroken, he's lonely, he's over it, he's in love again, wash, rinse, repeat. "There's always a reason for falling in love, and it's always the darkest before the light comes" he sings on "Always a Reason." This heard-it-a-million-times line is the closest the singer ever gets to proclaiming something that resembles a deep thought. Meanwhile, Benet's efforts to sound sexy fall flat with lines like "I don't know what I need to do but I sure wanna get with you" on the disco-sounding dud "Take It."

Nevertheless, Benet's velvety croon is still undeniable, and the production is appropriately and effectively smooth. One of the album's higher points, the funky "Paid," featuring Eddie Levert of O'Jays fame, is a solid departure from the tiresome love ballads that pepper the rest of the record. His lead single, "Sometimes I Cry" features Benet at his best, showcasing his superb, saccharine falsetto as he laments a breakup. However, more often than not, it feels like Benet is lamenting the fact that he's not in the Temptations.

While the old-school vibe of Lost In Time allows for a few moments of inspired soul, the record feels way too lost in its own nostalgia. It looks like Benet needs to stop and ask for directions to find his way back to the present.