La Mar Enfortuna is essentially a Sephardic Elysian Fields, moving the pop-chanteuse project of Oren Bloedow and Jennifer Charles into the Jewish song tradition of Spain. Charles�s sultry voice, of course, dominates their second record, and while the instrumentation is largely acoustic (Bloedow on guitar, bass and oud; Ted Reichman on piano, accordion and bass; Doug Wieselman on reeds and four guests on Spanish, Mediterranean and classical strings), the arrangements are recognizably Bloedow�s.

Which is what makes the record work. They�re lovingly faithful to the material (seven of the ten tracks are traditional) without trying to disguise themselves: they�re not trying to pass, they�re just trying to play. So if it�s a little light, it�s still a lovely listen.