Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

No matter where you go in the world, the sound of music is always to be heard somewhere. It might not be the music you are used to hearing, it might even be the sound of nature at its creative brilliant best adding the backdrop to your day or holiday; whichever way you find music, if it’s good it will stay with you always.

Even the misery sometimes subjected to those who cannot help but be less than enamored with the yearly back slapping congratulations that is the Eurovision Song Contest might just find something a little cool, a little secretly enjoyable in the abundance of music that you wouldn’t subject your ears too at the best of times.

Ira Losco is one such artist to have made the transition from Eurovision Song contender to engaging music personality. The Maltese pop machine has the appeal and charismatic magnetism that could bewitch even the stoniest of hearts and like the fabled Maltese Falcon, her music becomes much more than a holiday trinket, it becomes a moment in which to savour and adore. None so more than with her latest album The Fire which has all the elements of pop fused with that Mediterranean beat that is highly addictive. However there is more to the album than being cast alongside those find themselves being played in the pubs and clubs like some monotonous beast in need of shaking up the British pop charts, tracks such as You Never Tried and The Person I Am have a passionate, almost devil may care attitude that appeals beyond the world of pop.

The sun may be a big draw to the Mediterranean islands, the chance to wipe away the winter blues and go in search of yourself a dream but whatever you do you should never try to avoid the local music of the place you find yourself in. The charm of exploring somewhere new should also be taken hand in hand with listening to something off your radar, Ira Losca more than delivers and it is no wonder that proud island of Malta is uplifted by the music she provides.

Ian D. Hall