Album Review: Little Broken Hearts

Little Broken Hearts by Norah Jones (Blue Note, 2012. 45 minutes)

Norah Jones (b. 1979) is the daughter of famous sitarist, Ravi Shankar. She launched her career in 2002 with the release of Come Away With Me, which won her five Grammy Awards, and sold over twenty million copies. She is listed as Billboard magazine’s 60th best selling artist and the top jazz artist of the 2000 decade.

Evolution

A lack of evolution is my main complaint of most musical artists. Take famed smooth jazz saxophonist, Kenny G., as an example. He has found a formula and exploited it for thousands of middle-aged housewives all around the country. His music has plagued elevators for at least a decade, and why? Because it works and makes money. What’s sad is Kenny G. is a legitimate jazz saxophonist with some amazing chops. 

Until Norah Jones’ last album, ...Featuring , my complaint was exactly the same for her. It became evident that she was trying to leave the sultry, easy world she had created with her earlier albums. Now, with her newest release, Little Broken Hearts, Norah Jones is seemingly telling the world she will always be growing, challenging preconceived notions, and evolving as she sees fit. No longer do we have to hear her lightly sanded voice that became synonymous with her Come Away With Me release in 2003. The ballad friendly, unobtrusive sound is no more! I’m thankful to be freed of my previous expectations.

A New Sound and a Breakup

Jones hired Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) to produce Little Broken Hearts. He is also credited as a co-writer on a few tracks. Burton has worked on projects with Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells, and The Black Keys. With that knowledge, you should already have a fairly good idea how this album plays out; it has funk roots, acoustic emphasis, intriguing guitar rhythms and captivating vocal melodies. 

The album comes from the aftermath of a breakup with musician Lee Alexander. Each song on the album signifies a different feeling one encounters during a break up. So, the listener receives a cinematic view of an ending relationship. You can hear the dark depravity of a breakup on the track “She’s 22”, where Jones asks repetitively over a dark and muted shuffle of an electric guitar,

“Does she make you happy?”

Say Goodbye

But, a dark track isn’t the only way Jones shares her breakup. If it was, the album wouldn’t be much of a departure from her past. In a listen to the track, “Say Goodbye”, you’ll immediately hear something different from “She’s 22”, starting with a simple groove, and a catchy hook.

“It’s alright, it’s okay / I don’t need you anyway. / You don’t have to tell the truth, cause if you do I’ll tell it too / Oh, I’ll tell it too. / Well, it ain’t easy to stay in love if you can’t tell lies, / So I’ll just have to take a bow / And say goodbye.”

Heartbreaking lyrics, certainly. But, what makes this song different is that immediately you are forced to tap your toes, listen intently, and enjoy. With an R&B beat, a gentle organ tremolo in the background, and a catchy guitar riff throughout, “Say Goodbye” certainly marks a departure for Jones. This song isn’t something you play in the background at a party; this tune is something you blare on your car radio.

Happy Pills

The antepenultimate track is perhaps my favorite of them all. Entitled “Happy Pills”, the song consists of a simple rock formula. Chunked guitar on eighth notes, snare hits on two and four, and a catchy guitar riff is a prescription for success. The tune almost sounds like The Black Keys just hired a new vocalist. The lyrics tie in with the rest of the songs on the album, but the vibe is different.

“Would you please just let me go now? Please just let me go”

No longer should you see Norah Jones as the demure girl who took home a ton of Grammy’s for her sultry performance on Come Away With Me. Jones has evolved into her next stage. Alternative Rock now graces her album, Little Broken Hearts, kindly assaulting our senses with a brand new, evocative sound. Rhythmically complex, melodically intricate, and lyrically thorough, this album is worth ignoring any preconceived notions you may have about Norah Jones.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Album Review: Little Hell

Little Hell by City and Colour (Vagrant Records, 2011. 49 minutes)

Dallas Green – who performs under the ironic moniker, City and Colour – first entered the music scene with the post-hardcore Canadian band, Alexisonfire. Having already released two albums as a solo artist – Sometimes and Bring Me Your Love – Green has encountered considerable success in his native Canada. He has won a MuchMusic Video Award, Juno Awards for Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, and has been named artist of the year by Chart magazine.

Modus Operandi

Honestly, my critical modus operandi for music reviewing is based on structures, creative musicianship, and lyrics. If an artist exhibits strength in one area, I am able to enjoy the music. For example, I appreciate Bob Dylan’s lyrics while admitting that the rest of his music remains bland.

When it comes to evaluating Little Hell, Dallas Green produces decent lyrics, keeps a focused structure, but fails badly in its melodic creativity. Put simply, Little Hell contains fabulous verses and horrible choruses.

In Praise of Chorus

For most pop songs, the chorus anchors the composition. Its catchy and repetitive melody sticks in the listeners mind and engrains in them an infectious addiction to the song as a whole. Without a chorus, a pop song has no legs. After multiple months of review as I wavered between enjoyment and disinterest, City and Colour’s latest record falls short because of the chorus.  

Sadly, despite Dallas Green’s angelic voice carrying profound gravitas, Little Hell’s choruses sound verse-like. Without catchy passages, Little Hell never gets off the ground.

Joy and Pain

Lyrically, Dallas Green explores the joy and pain of the smallest aspects of life such as romantic relationships to the big picture issues such as the housing crisis.

Most personally, Green sings of the night terrors his wife experiences in his first single, “Fragile Bird.”

“These cold nightmares / They make her worse for wear / Lost in the dark / She’s got a heavy heart / And when she wakes / In a fragile state / She calls my name / Hoping that I’ll keep her safe”

On a wider level, Green sings during “Natural Disaster,”

“The pipes have long since seized / The windows are all boarded up / There’s no electricity / Flowing through these lifeless veins / Cracks are running down the walls / Where picture frames used to hang / A hint of heartbreak still lingers in the air / And weeds have choked the breathe out of it long ago”

Rock Band

While City and Colour differentiated itself from others by an Americana-influenced folksy songwriting, Little Hell finds Dallas Green plugging in the guitar and creating music with a full band.

With the aforementioned lack of inventive choruses, the full band tunes feel dull and lack the intricacy necessary to stand out amongst an ocean of rock bands.

However, the tune, “The Grand Optimist,” portrays Green in classic form. Exploring the virtues and vices of his parents that he sees present in his life, Green’s voice finds itself rooted in the earthen finger-picking of an acoustic guitar. By far, it is my favorite tune on the record.

Explore the Back Catalog

Little Hell is rather disappointing. Considering the beauty of his previous record, I expected big things from City and Colour’s latest release. Whether by a lack of focus or a lack of creativity, Dallas Green wrote poor choruses and sought innovation in a lazy manner. Therefore, I suggest passing on Little Hell and, instead, listening to Bring Me Your Love.

Album Review: Wasting Light

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters (RCA, 2011. 48 minutes)

Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed by lead singer and guitarist, Dave Grohl. Established in the wake of Nirvana’s end, the band’s current members are Grohl, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, and Pat Smear. Of the seven studio albums released, six of them have been nominated for a Grammy Award and three – There Is Nothing Left to Lose, One by One, and Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace – have won Best Rock Album awards.

Rock-Star-Ness

As a junior high student learning guitar, I enjoyed spinning my portable CD player with headphones enveloping me like ear muffs and imagining that I was playing in a band in front of all my friends. Every night as slumber quietly arrived, my eardrums bounced to the melodies of my favorite bands. Though my comrades never knew it happened, the guitar riffs impressed them – I’m pretty sure.

As my mastery of guitar increased, my stage presence in my dreams took the performance to another level. In two words, rock star. In order to achieve maximum rock-star-ness, I needed to spin upbeat records with loud guitars. Sadly, the Foo Fighters’ new record, Wasting Light did not exist in my teen years.

With solid songs and high energy, Wasting Light is an enjoyable record, but, to me, it feels like an album I would have enjoyed more as a teenager.

Life and Death

Focusing on the theme of maximizing the time left on earth in the face of death, Wasting Light gives the Foo Fighters another well-made record.

Despite Dave Grohl’s questionable use of cliché in his lyrics, the content on the album neither adds nor subtracts from the listening experience.

“Rope,” the first single on the record, illustrates both the clichés and the themes of wasting life as death awaits.

“This indecision got me climbing up the walls / I've been cheating gravity and waiting on the falls / How did this come over me, I thought I was above it all / Our hopes gone up in smoke, swallow your crown.”

In the closing track, “Walk,” Grohl switches lyrical direction. Where the first ten tracks focus on impending death and fear of misusing life, “Walk” triumphantly proclaims the trampling of death. Grohl sings,

“Now! / For the very first time / Don't you pay no mind / Set me free, again / To keep alive, a moment at a time / That's still inside, a whisper to a riot / The sacrifice, the knowing to survive / The first decline, another state of mind / I'm on my knees, I'm praying for a sign / Forever, whenever, I never wanna die / I never wanna die / I never wanna die / I'm on my knees, I never wanna die / I'm dancing on my grave / I'm running through the fire / Forever, whenever / I never wanna die / I never wanna leave / I'll never say goodbye / Forever, Whenever / Forever, Whenever.”

While the rest of Wasting Light focuses on fear and regret, “Walk” tauntingly suggests that the future is a brighter place.

This One Goes to Eleven

Musically, Wasting Light is a guitar record. From the very first aggressive riff, it is evident that Grohl’s many collaborations with rock n’ roll’s elite have influenced his songwriting. In fact, “White Limo” sounds as if it fell out of the Motörhead song library.

In terms of songwriting, Pitchfork Media suggests – and I couldn’t agree more – that Dave Grohl is the modern rendition of Tom Petty – churning popular working-class rock tunes.

As I mentioned earlier, my teenage self would have eaten this album for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The guitar riffs are aggressive, but, not too technical. And most importantly for a young guitarist just beginning on the electric form of the instrument, the tunes consist of plugging in the guitar and playing. Aside from some tremolo opening the song, “Rope,” Wasting Light turns the amps to eleven and lets the chords ring.

This Foo Fighters’ release provides another consistent staple in their discography. The songs are listenable and the energy is infectious.  However, the simplicity in the lyrics and musicianship keeps this record from true greatness. While Wasting Light does not offend me in any way, I find it difficult to recommend.