‘Unbroken,’ unbowed and uninteresting

Katharine McPhee’s problem has never been that she lacks a voice that is pretty or powerful. Even on “American Idol,” her problem has always been that she just doesn’t know how to do anything interesting with it.

With a new look and different sound, she and her new label were no doubt hoping to have solved the problem.

Unfortunately, “Unbroken” doesn’t solve anything.

It’s no doubt an improvement over McPhee’s last album, which was a painful, synthesized attempt to appear “current,” but this album’s classic pop seems too safe a choice for someone with an identity crisis.

Just when the album picks up momentum, as with first single “Had It All,” it wastes it with a disappointing run of mediocre songs featuring weak arrangements and rote lyrics. It’s all such a disappointment.