May 7, 2009 - Still a mystery in the US, 24-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist Katie Melua continues to polish the melodies that surround her modest romantic observations, creating an emotional arc that's stronger on "Pictures" than her two previous albums. The smoothness in the arrangements, however, results in an album too gussied up, an attempt to move her out of the sandbox with the likes of big-voiced, emotionally wrecked singers such as Brandi Carlile and place her alongside pop chanteuses. It's a safe play, one that diffuses the effect of her heart-felt lyrics.
Still a mystery in the US, 24-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist Katie Melua continues to polish the melodies that surround her modest romantic observations, creating an emotional arc that's stronger on "Pictures" than her two previous albums. The smoothness in the arrangements, however, results in an album too gussied up, an attempt to move her out of the sandbox with the likes of big-voiced, emotionally wrecked singers such as Brandi Carlile and place her alongside pop chanteuses. It's a safe play, one that diffuses the effect of her heart-felt lyrics.
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