The seed that blossomed into Little Damaged Hearts, Norah Jones’ fifth album, was sown when the singer-songwriter labored with producer Hazard Mouse on Rome, his 2011 collaboration with Daniele Luppi. Hazard Mouse – whose actual title is Brian Burton – rose to fame as one half of the leftfield R&B duo Gnarls Barkley in 2007 and shortly after labored with Gorillaz, Beck, and The Black Keys, earlier than teaming up with Jones in 2009. Jones carried out on three of Rome’s songs and went again within the studio with Burton to report what turned Little Damaged Hearts.
Hearken to the deluxe version of Little Damaged Hearts now.
“I was out of my comfort zone”
Jones and Hazard Mouse’s collaboration was surprising. Longtime followers had been used to her jazz- and country-inflected ballads, however Little Damaged Hearts’ 12 songs introduced a really totally different musical panorama. On her earlier 4 albums, the New York-born singer had ready all her materials forward of the studio periods, however Little Damaged Hearts was outlined by its spontaneity: Jones entered the studio with out realizing what would transpire. “I’d never gone in with nothing and wrote songs from scratch, and I’d never played bass before on a record,” she revealed to Rolling Stone journal. “I was out of my comfort zone.”
However with Burton – who co-wrote all of the album’s materials – by her facet, Jones rapidly discovered her ft. On the time, she was nursing a damaged coronary heart after a romantic relationship turned bitter, however on Little Damaged Hearts she transmuted her ache into an absorbing and kaleidoscopic idea album that explores the aftermath of a break-up. “I always heard the old stories about how you write better songs when you go through some shit,” Jones advised Rolling Stone. “That sucks, but it’s true.”
Processing grief and loss
Earlier than the album hit the outlets, Blue Be aware issued “Happy Pills” as its lead single. A pop-rock monitor about exorcising the ghost of a damaged love affair, it sounded radically totally different from something Jones had launched earlier than. The one catapulted her into Billboard’s Sizzling Rock Songs chart for the primary time, peaking at No.44.
“Good Morning” is a folky rumination enhanced by cosmic keyboard sounds, whereas “Say Goodbye” is extra overtly pop-tinged. Regardless of its valedictory theme, the tune is upbeat moderately than miserable. Elsewhere, psychedelic results add coloration to the album’s title monitor, which evinces an ethereal wooziness.
On the sparsely organized “She’s 22,” Jones’ slowly strummed acoustic guitar takes the lead whereas the singer muses philosophically on the lady that has changed her in her former lover’s life. “Take It Back” can be about processing grief and loss, nevertheless it’s rendered poetically and contrasts dramatically with “After The Fall,” the standout tune on Little Damaged Hearts; right here Jones’ ethereal vocals float above Burton’s guitar, synths, piano, and strings.
“This is all about saying things that needed to be said”
“4 Broken Hearts,” whose theme is infidelity, is earthier, with shards of bottleneck guitar punctuating Jones’ plaintive vocals over a rudimentary drum beat. In sharp distinction, a mournful cello deepens the pathos of “Travelin’ On,” which focuses on the ache of separation. Extra infectious is “Out On The Road,” a tune about discovering new horizons, whose jangly guitars imbue it with a country-pop really feel.
There’s an altogether darker tone on “Miriam,” the place Jones addresses the lady that broke up her relationship. It’s a chilling exploration of betrayal, with Jones processing vengeful ideas. “Now I’m not the jealous type/Never been the killing kind,” she sings, although the ultimate verse yields a sinister, virtually surprising edge: “I’m gonna smile when I take your life.”
“There’s a lot of hurt in there”
Taking a unique strategy to Little Damaged Hearts did nothing to alienate Jones’ devoted followers. Launched on April 25, 2012, the album obtained important acclaim and rocketed to No.2 within the US pop charts. It additionally topped a number of album charts in Europe and peaked at No.4 within the UK.
As post-mortems of defunct romantic relationships go, Little Damaged Hearts is considered one of the most effective break-up albums in latest reminiscence. It’s unflinchingly trustworthy in its portrayal of affection gone mistaken. For Jones, nevertheless, making the album was a cathartic expertise that helped her to course of the emotions of loss and grief that follows any break-up. Finally, it proved a constructive expertise.
“I’m not sad, but there’s a lot of hurt in there,” she confessed when selling the album in 2012. “And it felt great to say what I felt and put it down on tape. Doing that made me so happy. This album is all about saying things that needed to be said.”
Hearken to the deluxe version of Little Damaged Hearts now.
