to listen or purchase
After conquering the UK in one fell swoop, Corinne Bailey Rae has now hit the US with her highly touted debut album, and a lot of folks are watching. The attractive 26 year old singer/songwriter/guitarist is being labeled by many as the "next Norah Jones" (about the twentieth person with that title so far), and the description is not far off. Like Jones, Rae has an easygoing pop style that should attract adult audiences, but maybe with the ability to bring in teens too. She has a knack for writing smooth, melodic pop with strong hooks, and her quirky, whispery voice (sort of Rickie Lee Jones meets Nelly Furtado) is an effective, folky accompaniment for her compositions.
Rae's brand of music is only a passing acquaintance of Soul (even more tenuous than Jones' connection with jazz), but it is nonetheless pretty infectious stuff. So it's tough not to find guilty pleasure in catchy, radio-friendly tracks like "Put Your Records On," "Trouble Sleeping" and "Butterfly."
After conquering the UK in one fell swoop, Corinne Bailey Rae has now hit the US with her highly touted debut album, and a lot of folks are watching. The attractive 26 year old singer/songwriter/guitarist is being labeled by many as the "next Norah Jones" (about the twentieth person with that title so far), and the description is not far off. Like Jones, Rae has an easygoing pop style that should attract adult audiences, but maybe with the ability to bring in teens too. She has a knack for writing smooth, melodic pop with strong hooks, and her quirky, whispery voice (sort of Rickie Lee Jones meets Nelly Furtado) is an effective, folky accompaniment for her compositions.
Rae's brand of music is only a passing acquaintance of Soul (even more tenuous than Jones' connection with jazz), but it is nonetheless pretty infectious stuff. So it's tough not to find guilty pleasure in catchy, radio-friendly tracks like "Put Your Records On," "Trouble Sleeping" and "Butterfly."
Corinne Bailey Rae should find a willing, even hungry, audience looking for a respite from hip-hop and angst rock-filled radio, and her melodic pop/folk blend may be just the thing that does what Norah Jones accomplished in 2002 -- bring adults back to the CD store.
CR