Katie Melua
The House

Well, it's summer, let's leave for a few days the gloomy shores of metal and the intricate progressive melodies to sail towards lighter and fresher destinations. "The House" is the fourth studio album of the talented and charming Georgian-born singer-songwriter, who since her debut - "Call off the Search", 2003, when she was a budding 19-year-old - has been received as a revelation, confirmed by the excellent "Piece by Piece", an album of cohesion and intensity never subsequently matched, in the decent Pictures, and in this fourth album: "The House", indeed.

Before giving way to the blah blah of the critics, Katie Melua must be granted points for two indisputable qualities: an exceptional voice and a remarkable interpretative flair. From there on, the genre and the individual songs may or may not appeal.

As for the genre, the album in question spans various scenarios without derailing from the anchor point that is evidently Katie's voice. If the opening track, "I'd love to kill you", "A moment of Madness", and "The One I Love Is Gone" bear Katie's soft, somewhat blues and somewhat swing signature (occasionally winking at Norah Jones), in other instances it veers towards highly intelligent and enjoyable pop, like "The Flood, A Happy Place" and "Plague of Love", plus the title track "The House".

Completing the album are episodes more overtly bluesy like "God on The Drums", "Devil On The Bass" or intimate like "Red Balloons", the rockish and highly enjoyable "Tiny Alien", and finally the horrid and blatantly pop (a not very original pop) "Twisted".

Although the days of "Piece by Piece" - to clarify, the album of "Nine Million Bicycles", "Spider's Web", and "On The Road Again" - seem to have faded, Katie Melua's communicative ability remains essentially unchanged, and even for those who do not particularly love the genre, this record is a milestone that can evoke pleasant emotions.