Saturday, February 6, 2010

Corinne Bailey Rae - The Sea-Change



No one would judge you for forgetting Corinne Bailey Rae. After all she was largely a product of the Oprah machine. A British neo-soul singer/songwriter that felt just a tad too formulated. The soft melody of her first album "Rarities" was definitely not a disappointment but it felt more a-tune to nights at a wine bar or Sunday house cleaning than actual music listening. It was a record that got lost in the background of your life.

The Sea is a whole other monster. Perhaps owing much of it's artistry to the recent loss of her husband. It is brash without being over the top. Chill without being Winehouse crass. There are moments of true artistry like "The Blackest Lily" and, "Are You Hear" where she touches on the loss of her husband to overdose, without being melodramatic as would be expected.

The album will still be welcome in a wine bar but this is more post modern neo-jazz than Norah Jones or any of Bailey Rae's contemporaries.