From a sunny and cheerful debut (an eponymous album in 2006) to an anguished and clouded sophomore album called The Sea,singer-musician Corinne Bailey Rae has come a long way. Thirty-year-old Rae Britains reply to Norah Jones has meticulously merged contemporary jazz vocals with pop/folk/soul elements. And they are intensified with grief (the album comes almost two years after her musician husband Jason Raes death following a methadone-alcohol binge). The 11-track record,therefore,is a letting-go of emotions. The melodies sweep from melancholic yet jazzy subterranean crooning to poignant songs reflecting a deep sense of loss and emptiness. Although dark themes predominate,the album is perky at some level and even has a few R&B moments swirling along vivaciously structured guitar,bass and drums. Vocal resonance apart,Raes nimbleness on the guitar and the piano,backed by tight doses of horn and string sections,has the album packing in an edge-of-doom feeling and footloose refrains. It starts with an unassuming acoustic progression in Are you here where she sings about her husband,Hes a real live wire/ Hes the best of his kind,and moves on to the volatile Id do it all again and the pensively structured Feels like the first. The blackest lily stands out with its groovy bass line and a flashy guitar solo that can pass off as a Bond movie theme song. Attacking horn and string sets meets droning synth bass in tracks like Closer and Loves on its way,while R&B seeps through Paris nights/ New York mornings and Paper dolls. This is a high tide of heartache.
