Seaward bound

Corinne Bailey Rae
The Sea
(EMI Records)
4 stars (out of five)

Four years is a long time to be silent in the pop world. Trends change so quickly that it is unwise for a mainstream musician to spend too lengthy a spell away from the recording studio. Especially when said artist has just had a number one hit and picked up a raft of awards for her debut album, as was the case with Corinne Bailey Rae in her breakthrough year of 2006.

With the ridiculously catchy “Put Your Records On” riding high in the charts and several Best New Act gongs heading her way, Bailey Rae was very hot property indeed. She spent the next couple of years plotting her next move and penning some of the material for a follow-up to that attention-grabbing self-titled debut.

But then disaster struck. Husband Jason Rae was found dead in the flat of a friend - a pathologist’s report concluded the death was due to a “suspected drug overdose” - and the budding pop star’s life was suddenly turned upside down.

What followed was an understandable period of grieving and soul-searching as Bailey Rae struggled to come to terms with her loss. She also continued to work on new album “The Sea” - half of the songs for which were written before the death and the rest crafted afterwards.

The chance to put some of her feelings down on paper proved a welcome release for the 30-year-old and the result is an album far more reflective and melancholic than its pop-packed predecessor. Gone is the happy-go-lucky chart darling and in her place is a lyrically mature songwriter capable of flitting between a range of different genres with ease.

Where Bailey Rae’s debut leaned towards a more generic, radio-friendly sound (a style that paid off handsomely with the smash success of “Put Your Records On”), the second effort is a lot more eclectic and the diversity on offer is truly remarkable at times. There’s a bit of R’n’B (“Closer”), a dash of indie rock (“Are You Here”) along with a whole lot of funk, soul and even a few jazzy flourishes.

But it is the lyrics and the unique way in which they are delivered by Bailey Rae’s quirky voice that really stand out. Much of the content is clearly inspired by the death of her husband and she wastes no time in getting straight to the point on opening track “Are You Here”, the first lines of which are “He’s a real live wire/he’s the best of his kind/wait ‘till you see those eyes”. She goes on to recall the deepest depths of her sorrow on rocker “The Blackest Lily” when she sings “I didn’t know what the day was/I didn’t know what the time it was” before imploring whomever will listen to “Colour my heart/make it restart”.

Those moving words, her sultry vocals and the album’s slick production – which serves to weld the songs together as a cohesive set despite the different styles on show – combine in impressive manner to form a powerful follow-up to that big-selling debut. It might not shift as many units or be as pleasing to pop fans’ ears, but “The Sea” is an important artistic statement from one of the most talented mainstream artists around today.

By Daniel Markham, 14 February 2010