Melanie De Biasio - ‘No Deal’ | Album Review

‘No Deal’ has been a long time coming to our shores. Melanie De Biasio’s latest release has already had time to achieve gold status in her native country of Belgium and now it’s sure to find an audience in the sleekest of our jazz clubs.

This is music that occupies the dark, smoky place between passion and melancholic anger, and Melanie is a soulful conduit for these emotions to travel through. ‘No Deal’ speaks to a deeper sense; the steady drive of ‘I’m Gonna Leave You’ will wind itself around your heart, while ‘I Feel You’ evokes Nina Simone at her most subdued. It’s the sound of love and love lost, something that echoes a shared human experience.

As with previous De Biasio releases the instrumentation is meticulous and unique, and it’s the texture of her music that is most striking. From the velvet lilt of the title track to the characteristic blend of tight musicianship and improvised flair that jazz is so tailored for, it is a journey that is intriguing in its selective richness, allowing each song to breathe and reveal its own surprises.

Listen to ‘The Flow’ right here: