At 36 years old, the queen of the romantic, sophisticated ballad has released her 8th album, simply named Album no.8. While the title is minimal, the means in which the work was produced are far from it. Here, Katie Melua is joined by the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra. The collaboration is rather apt considering the British singer’s Georgian origins. The strings serve as a luxurious backdrop to these often-autobiographical songs which cover subjects from the end of a loving relationship (A Love Like That, Airtime), to a journey she took with her father in the Caucasus mountains (Leaving the Mountain). The orchestra is present on each of the tracks but by no means does it squander the delicacy of the songs. Especially when some soloists (sax, piano, guitar…) or even a funky and jazzy rhythmic section occasionally drop in to lighten up the proceedings (Voices in the night). Producer Leo Abrahams did the arrangements on the album which sometimes evoke the finesse of Nick Drake or the contemplative emotion of John Barry. We also find an homage to the choreographer Pina Buasch, cowritten with Zurab, Katie’s brother (Maybe I Dreamt It), a tender evocation of the singer’s childhood (Heading Home), and also the very seductive English Manner, the portrait of a love triangle, unveiling a more colourful aspect to Katie Melua’s art. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz