Little Broken Hearts [CD]

This album is called "little broken hearts". It is dark, moody and bitter in content. For our darling heroin is suffering from a broken heart. Yet she is not taking it in poor spirits. Every song is another angle on what happens when a long term relationship comes to an end, a different feeling, a different outlook etc. Norah Jones vocal take on this album is pretty much what you would expect from the single most pretty voice on this earth. There are some minor shocks and frights to be had on this album, on one song, called Miriam, its a song that is basically a dirge, where she sings about her rival "Miriam" i guess, and eventually sings "Miriam, thats such a pretty name, and ill keep saying it until you die" and "you know you done me wrong, i'm gonna smile when i take your life" That sort of thing, shocking indeed. Yet this song contains one of many shocks, to be honest. A refreshing turn from a singer who had to find a new way to express herself. Yet it is not just the lyrics to her songs on this album and her trademark brilliant singing that make this album so good. Its the music. Gone are the days where the music was just...pretty much a generic frame to showcase her voice. It seems Norah figured out she could sing the alphabet and it would sound good. Something any long term fan has known for years. There are hooks within the music, and catchy bits and in places i dare say it even sounds rather grand...not talking Queen here, but grand for a Norah Jones record at least. There are many elements within the music, and no real genre, but it can be said its sonically influenced jazz/fusion rock...or something like that.

For a rating i have given 5 stars, though its more 4 and a half. The only slight detraction, is that despite the music being much more engaging and despite the singers many talents...this is still an album you can just put on in the background. It is not like her previous albums though. You can put this on in the background but you will miss out on a lot of good stuff if you let it float over you. In closing...i highly recommend you try out this album.

Can it really be 10 years since Norah burst on to the music scene with the wonderful "Come Away With Me"? At just 22 years old that blend of pop and jazz made her an instant star. Now, with her fifth studio album and with Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, as her producer she has moved into different territory, difficult to categorise but bordering on indie or alternative.

All of the songs were co-written with Burton and chart the end of a sweet romance. Now, at the age of 33 she asks her former lover

"She's 22 and she's loving you
And you'll never know how it makes me blue
Does it make you happy?"

With her smoky voice and a simple piano arrangement picking out the subtle melody this is the sound of heartbreak captured to perfection and closer to her jazz pop style than the other songs on the album.

But heartbreak takes on a darker hue with the brooding "Miriam" who stole her lover. She will murder Miriam and she tells her

"Miriam, you done me wrong,
I'm gonna smile when
You say goodbye".

There is an intensity to her voice and with the insistent keyboard this is dramatic contemporary pop with edge.

This is much darker stuff than anything that Norah Jones has attempted before. "All A Dream" has the lyrics of a nightmare, the voice of an angel and an arrangement of strings, piano and guitar that makes it a most powerful evocation of heartbreak.

That said, the album is uneven. "Happy Pills" is a jagged little pop song, the beautifully crafted revenge lyrics of "Little Broken Hearts" are not served well by the arrangement and "Say Goodbye" is overloaded with irritating synthesiser and drums.

But "4 Broken Hearts" is exquisite and "After The Fall" is a perfectly nuanced song about being on your own when love has gone. The voice of Norah Jones is as full of effortless class as ever with some fine songs and lyrics that capture perfectly the heartache of a broken love affair. The downside is that Danger Mouse has given her arrangements that are unsympathetic to some of the songs and to her voice.

But, on balance, this is an album that is refreshingly different to much of 21st century popular music and one that will appeal to fans of Norah Jones and probably gather some new ones too.

As Jones has gone further into her career she has become more experimental and - yes - more self indulgent, which could be bad thing when you look at the indulgences of other artists, but what draws the line is that rather than disappearing into smug comforted blandness (man, did Tori Amos do that after Choirboy), Jones has just got more and more interesting. Much of the criticism levelled at this work will surely be how far away it is from Come Away With Me, but CAWM is timeless in it's own way so to continue down that alley would be pointless. In addition, Jones has grown up in those years in terms of her maturity as an person, whereas many of her audience were grown up in the first place, so have just got older and gone from jumpers to cardigans. This new offering has new voice in so many ways, and the continuity of the subject matter throughout lends it the feel of a concept album. She's still saucier than a direct hit on a Heinz factory; there is simply no sexier voice on the planet. Hifi writer Alvin Gold once said "That which is unable to excite is equally unable to offend" - I hope this excites many and sells by the truckload, and as for those who are offended - please post your reviews so people know what they are letting themselves in for, but remember - you don't Have to listen to it.