B Norah Jones
Begin Again
Blue Note
Norah Jones grew to be a household name after her 2002 debut Come Away With Me — an album that brought home five Grammys. She became a jazz sweetheart overnight, but quickly established that she did not want to be boxed into one genre.
After her early success, Jones wandered toward folk influences before dappling in electronica, collaborating with Danger Mouse with 2012's Little Broken Heart. Jones returned to jazz with 2016's Day Breaks and has now released a collection of singles in Begin Again.
The seven-song project harnesses her ability to tap into other musical streams while maintaining a central jazz feel. Electronic influences are less pronounced than in Little Broken Heart yet more present than in Day Breaks. The subtlety is welcome, given the experimentation on Begin Again.
"My Heart Is Full" plays with reverb as Jones' sultry voice echoes and bounces, commanding attention. The distorted vocals in "Just a Little Bit" make the song playful, without detracting from the quality of her writing. Mirroring techniques used by artists like Bon Ivor, "A Song With No Name" mixes the delicate with the experimental, striking a fantastic balance. It's a distinct Jones song, with post-production vocal texture. "It Was You" pulls no bells or whistles, coasting into a jazz number decorated with horns and a thundering piano.
As a collection of singles, Begin Again is unconcerned with generating a cohesive feel throughout the album — perhaps allowing Jones more creative license song to song. It's an entertaining assortment.
Hot tracks: "My Heart Is Full," "A Song With No Name," "It Was You"
— RAGAN CLARK
The Associated Press
B+ Ben Platt
Sing to Me Instead
Ben Platt is well on his way to becoming a multi-platform superstar.
The 25-year-old star of Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen landed a Tony for playing the title role in the musical, a Grammy for his part in the cast recording and a Daytime Emmy for performing songs on the Today show.
He's also set to play the lead in Ryan Murphy's new Netflix series The Politician, and he has roles in the coming movies Run This Town and Broken Diamonds.
But it's his debut solo album, Sing to Me Instead (Atlantic), where Platt really gets to introduce himself, and he makes the most of the opportunity. He co-wrote all 12 of the album's tracks, and nearly all of them feel like intensely personal insights into former relationships.
On the first single, "Bad Habit," Platt drives the piano ballad with a wide range of emotions and corresponding vocals that move from conversational to booming Broadway. He has moments where he fits next to Sam Smith, especially on the gospel-soul of "Temporary Love," and even Adele, on "Hurt Me Once," which Platt co-wrote with Eg White, who co-wrote Adele's breakthrough hit "Chasing Pavements."
Those are the times when Platt sounds most restrained, when he doesn't push into the showy vocal heights that are generally required on Broadway. In a more conventional pop singer's hands, a song like the dramatic but idiosyncratic ballad "Better" could be a sure-fire pop hit. But the intensity Platt brings to lines like "Did you keep my sweater, sweater? Did you read my letter, letter?" makes the song undeniably his.
Hot tracks: "Bad Habit," "Temporary Love," "Hurt Me Once"
— GLENN GAMBOA
Newsday (TNS)
B+ Damien Jurado
In the Shape of a Storm
Mama Bird
Damien Jurado's In the Shape of a Storm is as stark as its cover illustration, but within, the frugal sounds are rich with expressions of love, loss, hope, despair and humor.
Recorded in two hours in his new home state of California, the Seattle native's 10 songs are immediate and direct, but their origins are often distant. Jurado is especially prolific, and compositions thought lost or put aside nestle together like once-close companions reconnecting.
Even when wrapped in increasingly adventurous arrangements, especially on the albums recorded with the late Richard Swift, Jurado's songs have always been distinctive. Performed almost exclusively on acoustic guitar, In the Shape of a Storm saves you the trouble of having to peel anything off.
Only Josh Gordon's high-strung guitar adds a metallic brightness to a few songs, but it can also interrupt the intimacy, especially on the title track and "Silver Ball," where interspersed doo-doo-doos make the last lines — "Time does not heal/ Everything an end" — much less definitive, nearly celebratory.
On "Anchors," seemingly innocent prospects — "I still go on seeing you as mine/ Just not at the present time" — are paired with a dour reality: "Untied to your anchor and I'm sinking like a stone."
The more up-tempo "Where You Want Me to Be" has a Lovin' Spoonful-like freshness, and Gordon's sparse guitar fills on "Throw Me Now Your Arms" ring like Big Star's.
Intimate and vulnerable, In the Shape of a Storm is a delicate highlight of Jurado's career.
Hot tracks: "Newspaper Gown," "Where You Want Me to Be," "Throw Me Now Your Arms"
— PABLO GORONDI
The Associated Press
Style on 04/23/2019