Katie Melua – Acoustic Album No.8 (2021)
Georgian-British singer-songwriter Katie Melua brings forth an intimate and endlessly rich offering with her latest album Acoustic Album no.8. The record reworks the tracks on Melua’s critically acclaimed Album No.8 released last year, stripping back her songs to just vocals and guitar. The first track on the album, ‘Joy’, sets the mood for the collection of tunes that emanate throughout. The song offers a window into the singer’s live performances. Her voice is angelic and soothing as she picks and plucks at her acoustic guitar. And, like its name, the song evokes a sense of pure joy.
Perfectly simple in its production and music, the almost naked execution of each track on the album gives Melua’s voice and poetry no place to hide. The singer seems to relish the exposure, she seems so at home in an acoustic environment. Track two, ‘English Manner’, is a bit more groovy. Melua switches between a staccato jam and a slow and elongated refrain. The track’s lyrical narrative also shifts between the moments of an affair and a woeful, wanting call. Melua almost seems to cry as she sings, “he loves me”.
Bouts and bursts of lyrical vulnerability are few and far between on Album No.8. Heartfelt moments pepper each musical home-cooked serving and there is something absolutely divine about Melua’s voice. Made even more delicious when she sings with so few instruments or grand distractions. There is an effortlessness when she sings and a richness in her tone that feels both earthy and luxurious at the same time. ‘Leaving the Mountain’ is another beautiful track. Melua sings of childhood and nature and the song acts as a lullaby, lulling the listener into a dreamy state of mind. Melua takes you on an acoustic journey, across jazzy skies with tracks like ‘Voices in the Night’. She holds your hand as she takes you over folky hills with songs such as ‘Heading Home’ and across soulful seas with tunes like ‘Your Longing is Gone’.
‘Maybe I Dream It’ and ‘Remind Me To Forget’ feature Grammy award-winning violinist Simon Goff. His haunting accompaniments take the album to new heights and are particular highlights on a wonderfully enchanting album.
Album No.8 is a stunning reintroduction, or introduction, to Melua’s tracks which have been so masterfully reimagined in her latest release.
For more from Katie Melua check out her official website, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
