A resurrection of joy and the will to transcend. Six years ago, the Leeds musician sang the words: “Where everywhere is violence, silently I go. Love is on its way. I hope it won’t be too late“. Throughout the cathartic 2010 album The Sea, the usually smiley artist Corinne Bailey Rae attempted to find fragments of hope within the gloomy ocean of emotion she felt after her husband’s death. On her third release The Heart Speaks In Whispers, the ratio of grief to happiness has reversed. An impulsive jubilated reaction to her marriage to Steve Brown, co-producer in the trilogy of albums and as Bailey Rae puts it on ‘Been To The Moon’, “when we first collided the timing wasn’t right“. For any individual suffering with grief and seeking a positive solution, Bailey Rae songs offer therapeutic persistence and growth. Lyrics such as “This isn’t my first romance but it hit me like an avalanche,” and “resurrect me from the pyre” (‘Caramel’) inform the downbeat that the world is full of surprises and also regains the lovesick gratitude of her self titled debut. While water was a regular metaphor for turbulence on the preceding album – from the words to the production (near silent reflection one moment and rapturous strength the next) – The Heart Speaks in Whispers utilizes celestial terms to describe emotional magnitude from the moon to starlight, from skies to constellations, from sunlight to rainbows – many of which feature in this album’s answer to the flirtatious ‘Closer’ and ‘I’d Like To, the nature-filled ‘Green Aphrodisiac‘.
Her brand of gentle and calm neo-soul – including sunny observations – is still present but it’s paired with new ideas. With her role on the Mercury Prize Awards panel – involving endless hours of multi-genre LP listening – this could be a possible reason for this motivation. The anticlimactic ‘The Skies Will Break’ teams dreamy Florence harp with a subtle yet elevating dance beat. There’s also a trap pace to ‘Taken By Dreams’ and a reggaeton rhythm on ‘Tell Me’ that’s surprising and losing her identity slightly. Yet ‘Stop Where You Are’ extends her acoustic tracks to a style of indie-gospel rock.
With Corinne Bailey Rae set to perform with Stevie Wonder in Hyde Park this summer, it’s hard not to hear inspiration from the legend in many tracks; from the usage of Wonder’s clavinet, to the smooth fusion of funk, soul, Latin jazz and keyboard playfulness. It is an accomplished sound aided by the helping hands of composer Marcus Miller (Herbie Hancock), Pino Palladino ( Bailey Rae-compared Erykah Badu), drummer James Gadson (Marvin Gaye) and the all-round sophisticated presence of Esperanza Spalding. ‘Been To The Moon‘ and ‘Hold On’ are the best products of this teamwork. The former with its journey from woozy electronic hook (reminiscent of Bloc Party‘s technique on ‘The Love Within’) to deep brass jazz. The latter’s effortless Curtis Mayfield groove and reshaping of Bailey Rae’s trademark sparkles. The reshaping of her mentality is a lesson everyone can learn from.
