La Mentirosa

Pop, world, rock and indigenous folk aren't tidied up into pigeonholes in Italy. With her third release, Italian singer-songwriter Flo Cangiano continues to mix up cabaret, jazz, Eurovision balladry, rock and assorted Mediterranean rhythms with irrepressible energy and wit. Her voice beguiles, whether she is backed by solo guitar or bold brass. There are also generous sprinklings of bouzouki, oud and charango lutes, while her heroes and heroines are also imported. ‘Chavela’ pays heartfelt homage to the Mexican icon Chavela Vargas, the deftly picked waltz-time ranchera concluding with a subtle, swaying Mexican outro, while ‘Ponta de Areia’ is a measured, mellow Milton Nascimento cover. Flo wouldn't be Italian if she didn't occasionally emote exuberantly. She can whisper like a ham actor, and likes to leap an octave. There is a lot of playfulness, too: the title-track (meaning ‘Liar’) is a tongue-twisting, high-velocity tour de force that made me want to learn the Neapolitan dialect.