Album Review: Tanita Tikaram - Closer To The People

Unfairly lampooned for her 1988 mopey megahit Twist In My Sobriety, Tanita Tikaram's smokey folk-pop shouldn't have remained that hard a sell.

Opening her ninth album with the choogling Glass Love Train immediately recalls the beaming cock-a-hoopla of her debut single Good Tradition and one could almost feel guilty for losing touch. Giving Cool Waters a vinyl crackle underlay, and engaging full jazz mode on Night Is A Bird, downplays Tikaram's lyrical kookiness and showcases how comfortable she is in pulling the right moves for the songs themselves. A very welcome return.