Carla Bruni Earns Raves – for Singing

Originally posted Sunday February 17, 2008 08:00 AM EST

It's not every newlywed who gets reviewed by critics, but Carla Bruni isn't every newlywed.

The former supermodel and brand new first lady of France – who married President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this month – has a new album on the market, and Billboard magazine is raving with delight.

"Pure pleasure," says the music-industry publication of Bruni's No Promises. "Less than a minute into Carla Bruni's second album, you're just like the French president: hopelessly seduced."

In terms of her voice, the 40-year-old Bruni's "gossamer alto" is compared to Marianne Faithfull's as she delivers "11 of the world's most celebrated English-language poems, set to her own simple, seaside folk."

Final summation: "As mature as it is playful." Also sounds like a good recipe for marriage.