Portuguese starlet Ana Moura sings with a casual confidence on Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand, which beautifully showcases the traditional fado style of her homeland. It's all the more startling when you realize that Moura is only 25 years old, and this is her debut disc. Moura got her start singing in Portuguese clubs and at parties. Soon enough, she was discovered by Jorge Fernando, an accomplished composer, producer and guitarist in his own right. Under his tutelage, Moura blossoms beautifully on Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand, which captures a soothing blend of rehearsed vocal, improvisation and instrumentation. Moura's velvety voice and the subdued production work bleed into each other, and it makes the album an alluring, hypnotic adventure. Particularly enthralling is "Sou do Fado, Sou Fadista," the album's emotional centerpiece, which finds Moura singing about her passion for the traditional fado style. Her work is genuine and heartfelt, and Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand signals the arrival of an exciting new talent on the world music scene. --Joey Guerra