NORAH JONES
LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS (Blue Notes)
For whatever reason, it has never been especially cool to like Norah Jones. Snarky critics have dismissed her liltingly lovely music as jazz-lite and cruelly dubbed her ‘Snorah Jones.’ Still, such petty bitchiness aside, Jones has always been exceptionally good at what she does and her previous studio album, 2009’s
The Fall, was a tentative musical departure for her. Sure, there were still jazz-inflected tunes, but there was also a distinct indie vibe. She seemed to be edging her way toward exploring darker, different territory.
One wonders, listening to Little Broken Hearts, if such aspirations weren’t part of the reason she recruited renowned producer Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton to work with her on this, her fifth studio album. The album’s first single, ‘Happy Pills,’ is a deceptively upbeat pop-song that sees the classically trained jazz pianist pounding away on a keyboard and sounding more 1980s than 1940s. It’s the first sign that this album signals a musical departure for her and what a strange and engrossing departure it is. This is a break-up album and the songs reflect that: ‘Miriam’ plots the murder of her ex’s new girlfriend, the jauntily acoustic ‘She’s 22’ sees Jones speculating about her ex’s happiness and the title track imagines the hearts of all the world’s jilted lovers taking up arms and exacting revenge.
These songs were all written following the nasty breakdown of a long-term romantic relationship and Jones has channeled her heartbreak into songs that are best described as a curiously successful fusion of lo-fi production values and understated but pointedly barbed lyrics. An array of different instruments create low-key but interesting music on which to hang her lyrical paeans to heartbreak. Cellos, synthesisers, bass, drums, electric guitar and string quartets give life to the sleepy but resigned ‘Good Morning’ and bolster the reverb-heavy title track. Jones took a risk with this record and it’s one that mostly pays off because, at its best, Little Broken Hearts is experimental, to be sure, but also sophisticated without ever becoming soporific or soulless.
[rating:3.5/5]
Heidi Maier.
