FOLLOW ME

Iruka is one of the singers who moved from folk into the age of new music. As a maker of melodies, she deftly mixes a gentle sensibility with a pop artist's touch. Much of this record is carried by her delicate, airy voice.

On A3, a saxophone with a Jake H. Concepcion feel mingles with the performance; on A5, the sax and Suzuki Shigeharu's guitar play off one another. The latter is a polished mellow bossa nova. Iruka's charm reaches well beyond the one song with which she is so often identified.