"Up And Away", Σtella's 4th album

Floaty fourth album from pop singer mining Greek roots

Athens-based singer-songwriter Stella Chronopoulou begins life on the iconic US label Sub Pop with this buoyant fourth album.

Up And Away is Chronopoulou's most ambitious offering yet, a rich concoction of traditional Greek folk-pop informed by Grigoris Bithikotsis and Tzeni Vanou, and US and UK rock and pop too. 

Recorded with London-based producer Redinho, it’s full of songs about being touched by the rub of love, played on Greek and Arabic instruments such as bouzoukis (a long-necked lute) and qanuns. 

The title track is a little redolent of legendary Turkish vocalist and musician Selda Bacan, while Charmed and The Truth Is bear the unmistakable influence of Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie. 

There's a welcome tactile softness throughout this collection of songs that make it a record perfect for summer days, although occasionally they fail to engage when everything becomes a little bit too gossamer light.