Already gaining a reputation in Francophone countries, Israeli-born, Paris-bred Keren Ann is taking baby steps toward establishing a beachhead in the English-speaking world. Her latest album (her fifth) is entirely in English, and there was an Americanised robustness to her presence at the little Arts Theatre.

Despite the impression given by her recordings, which have seen her compared to Rufus Wainwright and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, Keren Ann's confident stage presence proves she is no fragile faun. Perhaps Gallic winsomeness has given way to something gutsier after several years of living in New York.

This impacted on the music, too, with the set offering a fair bit of hip-swinging sassiness. Lay Your Head Down was a rush of trumpet and assertive vocals; Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi had guitar-wielding Ann facing the bassist and locking horns, rock-star style, as they galloped the song home.

However, when she slowed down and sank into Que N'ai Je? and Chelsea Burns, she seemed to curl into herself, singing in a near-whisper, letting each verse melt away before starting the next.

Lovely and compelling? Undoubtedly. But Keren Ann wasn't above hamming it up - requesting that all lights be turned down before she sang Manha de Carnaval, "because this can only be sung in the dark". The easy-on-the-ear delicacy often strayed into Katie Melua territory. But is Melua quite so charming? I don't think so.