** 1/2 Holly Cole, “Dark, Dear Heart,”...

** 1/2 Holly Cole, “Dark, Dear Heart,” Metro Blue.

Cole’s somewhat unfocused career moves into a flat-out pop direction with this low-key set of tunes by Sheryl Crow, Joni Mitchell, Mary Margaret O’Hara and others. Cole’s ability to get inside a song serves her well, especially on Mitchell’s “River” and Crow’s “You Want More.” But her laid-back style--somewhere between torch singing and self-focused introspection--isn’t exactly the stuff that usually makes for a breakout pop album.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).