(four stars out of five)

In a nutshell: The talented 22-year-old returns with an astonishing, varied collection of edgy love songs that pack emotional punch without unleashing the overpowering angst delivered by many of her contemporaries.

What is it like?: Apple's rich voice effortlessly glides from angry growl to sweetly seductive hum, augmented throughout by her versatile bluesy piano and subtle percussion. This is the sound of a wordly-wise romantic who's fully aware she occasionally teeters on the brink of madness - "My derring-do allows me to dance the rigadoon around you," anyone?

How many good tracks?: An impressive ten out of ten.

Best track: The loping opener On The Bound

Best line: "And if you wanna make sense/Watcha looking at me for/I'm no good at math" from A Mistake

Verdict: This won't be to everyone's taste, but for sentiment without schmaltz and brassiness without bile When The Pawn is peerless.

thanks to sallytbyml for typing it!!

«