Un ucelllo canoro triste in una maglia di lana:
With his windswept hair and taste in chunky knitwear, Jack Savoretti is every inch the heart-throb, but he has a fathoms-deep voice and a melancholy bent that belies his cherubic appearance.
As befits such a voice, many of the tracks on Singing to Strangers are bathed in melodramatic strings and take off into bombastic choruses. Candlelight is so thick with portentousness it should be considered for the next Bond theme. Here and there he does lighten up, such as on the disco-inflected Youth and Love, while the stripped back title song has a sweet, Cat Stevens vibe. For the most part, however, this is music for tear-stained pillows.
Despite their no-nonsense titles such as Dying For Your Love, Better Off Without Me and Love is on the Line, these tales of heartbreak do have a lyrical depth not common to the genre, and are likely to appeal as much to wistful parents as much as their lovesick teens. He might well turn out to be the 21st Century’s Tom Jones.
This review first appeared in the Irish News
James JW Robinson 