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Katie Melua
Fortress
By Nicole Roberge
“The House” opens abruptly with “I’d Like to Kill You.” Singer-songwriter Katie Melua wants your attention and she gets it with the opening track, “I’d Like to Kill You.” Her seducing voice glides over the music and words of violence. Lovely violence. “The Flood” follows and is ethereal and haunting until the pace quickens and she adds a little edge to the vocals. Melua has an extraordinary voice — it’s very strong and vibrant. She pull emotions so effectively, it sounds like she belongs in musical theater.
Though each song stands alone very well, some of the tracks on the album’s first half tend to blur together. Things get more interesting by the album’s end. “Plague of Love” is catchy and fun, with a retro-rock vibe to it. The album picks up here as Melua dives into “God on the Drums, Devil on the Bass,” a tune that shows she’s willing to experiment a little with musicality and her voice. Though her songs are very beautiful, she maintains a certain format. She sounds best when she expands her range and just lets go on tunes like the electronica-oriented “Twisted.” She closes with the eerie and evocative title track and with her signature sound, which brings the album full circle.
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