Following on from her previous releases Voyage (2009) and Same Girl (2010), Korean singer Youn Sun Nah's latest release ploughs a similarly genre-defying furrow. The 11-track collection references chanson (‘Full Circle’), traditional Korean folk music (‘Arirang’) and pop (an unlikely yet fascinating cover of Nine Inch Nails' ‘Hurt’). For the first time, we also get treated to her take on European classical music, namely Alexander Scriabin's ‘Prelude Op.16 No.4’ for solo piano, which provided inspiration for the plaintive title track. Of her self-penned songs, ‘Lament’ scores especially highly for its air of world-weary melancholy. The singer receives exemplary support from the same line-up that featured on Same Girl, the one new addition being French accordion maestro Vincent Peirani, who not only adds a certain Gallic wistfulness to songs such as ‘Soundless Bye’, but also contributes a brace of fine originals. Lento reinforces the impression of an artist who is slowly building a powerfully distinctive body of work.