Paloma Faith: 'Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?'

On this evidence, Paloma Faith fancies herself a bit of a poet. "Prophet took my hand on All Souls' Day," goes her opening gambit, "He preached the values of deception." Later she slips in references to "the court of conscience", "sacred lies and deadly veils" and a man who "drank tea from a seamstress thimble". Well, it certainly makes a change from the likes of "Damn you a sexy b*tch, sexy b*tch...", doesn't it?

Better yet, the song itself sustains the weight of her lyrical pretensions. A sumptuous, string-swathed ballad whose charms unfurl after three or four plays - all sung in Faith's customary dramatic way of course - it's elegant, filled with intrigue and as aromatic as a boudoir whose tart keeps forgetting to snuff out the candles. In short, it's got a touch of the Stevie Nicks about it - and round these parts there's nout wrong with that at all.


> Click here to read our review of Paloma Faith's album