The thing about Katie Melua's debut album is that it doesn't offer anything that hasn't already been heard before. Call Off the Search is a pleasant combination of bluesy jazz instrumentation and Melua's gorgeous husky voice. Like Norah Jones before her, Katie Melua's music evokes a warm, dark club with cigar smoke in the air, well-mixed cocktails on the tables and a chanteuse and her piano at the front.
After listening to this album over the last three days, I can't really pinpoint any one song that stands out, and that is Search's weakness. It's very pleasant music to listen to while you're doing something else, but it's rather unsatisfying if you're looking for music to get lost in.
Katie plays her own instruments and has writing credits for two of the tracks (the rest are covers). Since she is more than a pretty face with a good voice, mediocre is probably too harsh a word, so I'm going to describe Search as "safe." Katie will not surprise you with anything unexpected or uncomfortable, but she's not going to blow your socks off either. I give Call Off the Search 3 stars out of 5.
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