Gardot shows her linguistic range on The Absence, handling English, French and Portuguese with ease and élan. Sprightly acoustic guitar, spirited percussion and lush strings are smartly arranged by her producer and collaborator, the composer Heitor Pereira. But the focus throughout remains on Gardot’s voice, whether it’s purring with vintage cabaret attitude (“Goodbye”) or keeping a beat afloat (“Mira"). The ballads are stand-outs, too, as “My Heart Won’t Have It Any Other Way” and “La Vie en rose” amply demonstrate.