Katie Melua

In the past couple of years, genre revivals have been more than evident. Soul, rock and pop have all had a call-back from the past.

The most recent genre to receive the modern facelift is easy listening. With Norah Jones getting so much recognition for her debut even with all its disappointments and utter lack of quality, Jones' Come Away With It won five Grammies and myriad of loving critics.

Of course, after a revival has proven its success, an influx is bound to follow. Currently Jamie Cullum, Michael Buble and, our subject, Katie Melua all hope to carry the same flag.

It is a musical crime to call Melua "the next Norah Jones" because, quite frankly, this Russian-born chanteuse can easily hold her own against Jones'.

One track on Melua's debut Call off the Search, "Blame It on the Moon," manages to cram more emotion than the entirety of Jones' catalogue.

Moreover, her voice is more direct and less lethargic, as demonstrated on lead single "Closest Thing to Crazy" and the title track.

With her smooth ballads, Melua captures urban life in her anthems of lost love and solitude - it's as if the rush of the city is behind her, but all she could think about is her emotional being on "I Think It's Going to Rain Today." Other tracks continue in that fashion, with "Belfast" and the country-tinted "Mockingbird."

Then Melua visits the haunting with the closing track "Lilac Wine," which closes off the complete effort with a satisfactory note.

"My Aphrodisiac Is You" could have been eliminated as a b-side along with "Tiger in the Night," however, standout tracks like the magnificent somber of "Crawling up a Hill," all with a London attitude, snap you right back to the edge of your seat.

Melua is the one to look out for. Whether it is a drenching or dry song, when it comes to easy listening, this eighteen year old has got it going on.

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