Eclectic chill

You’d expect an album called “The Fall” to have a sense of chaos within it. But, we are talking about Norah Jones here.

Her latest disc embodies an overwhelming chill that rocks. One can literally hear the patience of a Big Apple jazz starlet who has seen more than her share of heartache and loneliness.

There is even a song all about it.

In “Waiting,” the music is patient with Jones, allowing her to emote over ballerina music box melodies and from-within humming.

But don’t think for a second that Jones is self-deprecating. 

There is a cool, coy seductive charm to the timbre of her voice laced throughout the songs, which are accented with ’80s breakbeats and Fleetwood Mac-style bassline struts in summery jams like “Chasing Pirates” and “Even Though.”
Jones covers interesting territory though.

“Light As a Feather” captures the Middle Ages through woozy violins, chamber choir harmonics and electrosynths. 

“Young Blood” recalls the nation’s current “Twilight” obsession. Dissonant lyrics such as “He kissed my neck with a crooked cracked fang” align with reflections on fear and self-empowerment. 

Yes, Norah Jones is quite the mix of eclectic chill, but on this album, she proves there’s more to her than low-fi jazz-pop for white suburban housewives.