TANITA TIKARAM: “Lovers In The City” (east west)

TANITA Tikaram’s image as a precocious preppie was well and truly dispelled by the release of her last album, and with the arrival of Lovers In The City, her evolution into one of the finest female singer/songwriters of the present generation is virtually complete. Where albums like Ancient Heart and The Sweet Keeper were in large part fey and disposable, this outing is much more mature and holds the attention from beginning to end. The songs too – all ten of ’em – sound like songs rather than exercises in self-indulgence, and Tanita does have something to say that’s worth hearing.

She brings refreshing angles to well-worked themes – alienation, love, uncertainty and the like – and the album itself is lightly constructed, with lots of space being created in the arrangements. No screaming guitars or massed choirs get in the way of the songs, many of which are delivered in a subdued and breathy fashion. I’ve listened to this album repeatedly and I love the way that certain things catch me unawares even yet – like the four cellos which feature ‘My Love Tonight’, the shuffly percussion on ‘Wonderful Shadow’, or even the fact that the opening track ‘I Might Be Crying’ still reminds me of the Four Seasons hit of yesteryear, ‘Rag Doll’.

The combined effect is highly impressive. Lovers In The City signals the arrival of Tanita Tikaram as a serious artist. Yes, it really is that good.

• Oliver P. Sweeney