It’s something to hold in mind when listening to Fado Curvo. Its sweetness is deceptive or, if you prefer, transitory. Mariza – the single name signifies that this young Portuguese woman has already achieved diva status – is a singer who’s busy reinventing fado for new audiences. Her 2001 debut, Fado Em Mim, presented a stripped-down sound and Fado Curvo is an album that builds on this, its unhurried style adding a subtle drama to her voice.

In this, Mariza is aided by the talents of keyboard player Carlos Maria Trindade from Madredeus and pianist Tiago Machado. Other arrangements – simple strings, a little guitar – are employed, but their unobtrusive manner only heightens the intimacy of the songs themselves. It’s a technique that works perfectly on ‘O Deserto’ – which has an almost poetic reach – before twisting itself to the dance-like nature of the album’s title track. But Fado Curvo works best in its most unadorned moments: when Mariza sounds as if she’s singing to herself, she captures the sound of, yes, sorrow itself.