If you judged a CD by its cover you might believe that Julia Fordham's latest release "That's Life" would find the cool blonde a little edgier and a little more playful than her earlier efforts, but despite the more luminous hair, and the punk rock tank top, Fordham is the same well-mannered, careful singer on her eighth disc as she was on her very first. She smoothly steers her four-octave voice on a journey of graceful self-discovery while maintaining a rather chilly emotional distance as she attempts to make sense of herself, and her uncertain and eventually unraveling relationships. This British chanteuse--whose voice is a perfect balance of Christine McVie and Joni Mitchell--uses her throaty vibrato as a seductive weapon on "Walking On Water," as she ensnares a love with her poetry and promises, only to turn that purring lower register against him, on the rather cruel but stunningly beautiful "I'm Sorry," as she explains, "My mouth still says I love you, but I don't," while former Beatles compadre Billy Preston plays a sparse, anxious piano to echo the singer's elegant regret. It's all a little too civilized, yet there is an injured ambiguity that underpins the entire record, making one believe that perhaps Fordham was the injured party and this CD is really sweet revenge against a faithless lover. But whatever it is, this record works on a number of levels--every single one of them singularly satisfying. --Jaan Uhelszki