With the plaudits and adulations for her album Roads That Cross, still resonating, it was the right time to release some more material. Constrained by the present pandemic, Katarina seems to have contemplated her own evolutionary musical journey. She toured recently with the Ruf Records Blues Caravan, where she excelled on the piano and kept great rhythm with a mostly eclectic blues approach.
Here she has written four very personal, introspective and resonating songs, which show a different side to her character. The vocals are stunningly pitched to perfection. She is a classically trained musician, gaining a scholarship from Berklee Music College; quite different from her Serbian homeland.
“The vocals are stunningly pitched to perfection”
Nonetheless she returned there to do these recordings with the assistance of Romain Guillot who engineered this E.P. Flesh And Blood, features Dana Colley on saxophone.
Katarina has no safety net; this is raw open emotional outpouring through her piano and powerful vocals. Shoot Me Baby is more up-tempo with Guillot on upright bass adding to the depth of the tunes. Some countrified vocals melt with jazzy tones, very unique.
Silver Little River has a tone of melancholia to it, a possible nod to such influences as Tim Buckley and Tom Waits but with a smoother vocal touch, more champagne than bourbon. Last song is the highlight, Weeping Wind, a contemplative, beautiful song, showing a soft romantic side to her excellent song writing style. Poetic, soul searching tunes full of passion and mystique.
COLIN CAMPBELL
