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'''''Little Broken Hearts''''' is the fifth studio album by American [[singer-songwriter]] [[Norah Jones]], which was released April 30th, 2012, in the UK and May 1, 2012, elsewhere, on [[Blue Note Records]]. This is Jones' first release since 2009's ''[[The Fall (Norah Jones album)|The Fall]]''. The album is produced by Brian Burton, better known as [[Danger Mouse]], who is notable for his production work with [[The Black Keys]], [[Gnarls Barkley]], and [[Beck]], among others.<ref name= "SXSW">[http://www.jambands.com/news/2012/02/22/norah-jones-to-debut-new-songs-at-sxsw Norah Jones to debut new songs at SXSW] Jambands.com. February 22, 2012.</ref> on April 15, the entire album streamed online on [[NPR]]. <ref name="NPR">[http://www.npr.org/2012/04/15/150302373/first-listen-norah-jones-little-broken-hearts First Listen: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts'] NPR Music. April 15, 2012</ref>
'''''Little Broken Hearts''''' is the fifth studio album by American [[singer-songwriter]] [[Norah Jones]], which was released April 30th, 2012, in the UK and May 1, 2012, elsewhere, on [[Blue Note Records]]. This is Jones' first release since 2009's ''[[The Fall (Norah Jones album)|The Fall]]''. The album is produced by Brian Burton, better known as [[Danger Mouse]], who is notable for his production work with [[The Black Keys]], [[Gnarls Barkley]], and [[Beck]], [[The Shins]] among others.<ref name= "SXSW">[http://www.jambands.com/news/2012/02/22/norah-jones-to-debut-new-songs-at-sxsw Norah Jones to debut new songs at SXSW] Jambands.com. February 22, 2012.</ref> on April 15, the entire album streamed online on [[NPR]]. <ref name="NPR">[http://www.npr.org/2012/04/15/150302373/first-listen-norah-jones-little-broken-hearts First Listen: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts'] NPR Music. April 15, 2012</ref>


== Background ==
== Background ==

Revision as of 10:18, 4 May 2012

Untitled

Little Broken Hearts is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, which was released April 30th, 2012, in the UK and May 1, 2012, elsewhere, on Blue Note Records. This is Jones' first release since 2009's The Fall. The album is produced by Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, who is notable for his production work with The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, and Beck, The Shins among others.[3] on April 15, the entire album streamed online on NPR. [4]

Background

Back in 2009, Norah Jones and Brian Burton jammed in the Gnarls Barkley producer's Los Angeles studio to begin work on a project about which nobody knew. They spent five days together in June 2009, working on what would eventually become Jones' fifth solo album. The sessions were fruitful, but neither of them were quite satisfied. They spent the next two years working separately on other projects: she completed her fourth studio album The Fall, recorded another album with her old Alternative Country band mates the Little Willies, which turned to For the Good Times. Burton started a new project Broken Bells with James Mercer, spending some time in studio with U2 and working on their thirteenth studio album and produced The Black Keys seventh studio album, El Camino.[5] The duo previously collaborated on the 2011 album Rome, on which she contributed vocals to the tracks "Season's Trees", "Black" and "Problem Queen". Soon after the project was completed, the two headed into the studio again to work on her fifth album.[6]

In summer of 2011 Jones and Burton reconvened at Burton's studio to finish up Little Broken Hearts. At this time Jones brought a handful of raw, emotionally charged new tunes she penned in the wake of a harsh breakup with her fiction-writer boyfriend. in an interview with Rolling Stone March issue she said: "I always heard the old stories about how you write better songs when you go through some shit. That sucks, but it's true!"[5]

Composition

Little Broken Hearts follows from experimental chamber serenades to stark, electronic-embellished confessions. as Brian Burton mention in his interview with Rolling Stone, this album is very different than anything Jones has ever done before.

Rolling Stone writer Matt Diehl pointed the track "Take It Back" as Jones' boldest departure, which features fuzzed-out guitars and spooky, distorted vocals. On "4 Broken Hearts," he compared her to Dusty Springfield while confronting a mutual infidelity and, in the end, found a similarity between this record and Marvin Gaye's heartbreaking album Here, My Dear.[5]

Packaging and title

Norah Jones portrayed herself as Clara Belle in Mudhoney poster.

The cover art for the album was inspired from the poster to the film Mudhoney. Jones was recording the album at Danger Mouse's studio and saw the poster on the wall. She said, "Brian has this great collection of Russ Meyer posters in his studio. And this particular one...was right over the couch where I sat every day. I always was looking at it and thinking ‘that’s so cool I want to look like her!’ I remember staring at the poster the whole time we made the record. It’s a great visual."[7]

The title of the album (and most of the tracks) allude to a recent break-up.[5]

Promotion

On February 28, 2012, she premiered "Happy Pills," the first single from the album, via her Facebook page on the SoundCloud.[8] After she announced that she will perform in the 2012 SXSW, she added that she will perform her new song in the show for the first time.[3] "Happy Pills" was released on March 6, 2012.[9]

Days after premiering of "Happy Pills," on March 12, Jones uploaded "Travelin' On," another track of the album, on the Soundcloud.[10]. on April 15, NPR put the entire album for streaming online.[4]

Jones also announced some tour dates for promoting her new album which began from April 18, 2012, and end in August 21, 2012, which includes performances in North America and Europe.[11] She will also be a part of Gurtenfestival 2012 alongside artists like: Lenny Kravitz, Snow Patrol, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Friendly Fires and others.[12] in August 10, 2012 she would also join Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Beck, Metallica, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Sigur Rós, Stevie Wonder, Skrillex and others for Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival 2012.[13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(73/100)[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
BBC MusicPositive[15]
The Daily Telegraph[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB[17]
musicOMH[18]
Pop Matters7/10[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
Spin8/10[21]
The Independent[22]
New York Daily News[23]

Little Broken Hearts received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 20 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[14] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave a positive review to the album, awarding it with a three-and-a-half-star out of five, found Jones and Burton "well matched" and said: "Norah Jones may be pouring her heart out but it's been given an elegantly detailed sculpture that camouflages her pain. Listen closely and its evident, but it takes effort to ignore the alluring haze and hear the songs that lie beneath."[1]American Songwriter reviewer was positive about the album, called it "the most dramatic and rewarding departure she’s made in her career" and said: "Little Broken Hearts is her most commanding and compelling role yet."[24] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave a positive review to the album and rated it four-stars-out-of-five and wrote: "It might be dark, but this stunning collection of anguish is the brightest she's shined in a long time."[25] Marcus J. Moore of BBC Music also gave a positive review to the album, mentioned she "never sounds too depressed on this set" and said: "She keeps the mood fairly moderate amongst Burton's fluid soundtrack, setting the pace with a wry bravado that makes this album a dynamic listen."[15] Maerz of Entertainment Weekly gave a B to the album and wrote: "With Brian Burton (a.k.a. Danger Mouse) producing, the heavy-lidded-vixen thing works for her here."[17] Consequence of Sound critic Adam Kivel went deeper in the album and gave it a three-and-a-half star out of five and said: "This is a serious indie pop album. Jones and Burton have created something that should fit in the record collection of any Feist-loving indie kid just as easily as that of those soccer moms she won over years ago."[2]

Although Mojo Magazine was more critical in album in its May 2012 publish, found the duo unsuitable, gave it a three-star-out-of-five and wrote: "An intriguing partnership that fails to entirely live up to expectations." but Uncut Magazine was positive about it with a three-and-a-half star out of five and wrote: "This is a bold and engaging revolution."[14] Slant Magazine reviewer Jonathan Keefe also gave it a three-and-a-half star out of five and said: "Instead, by revealing some carefully chosen, deeply personal details and by building elaborate façades for the sake of drama, Jones has crafted her headiest, most complex album to date."[26] Kitty Empire of The Guardian criticized the album and gave it a three-star-out-of-five and said: "Mostly, though, Little Broken Hearts finds an effective way to grab the listener by the lapels: with kid gloves."[27] Andy Gill of The Independent was very positive on the album saying: "There's always an ingenious, often unexpected, connection linking the music to the mood of a specific song." and gave it a four-out-of-five-star.[22]But Nick Coleman of The Independent on Sunday was more critical in the record saying Jones "strength as a singer comes not from the power of her voice but the detail of her phrasing" and gave it a three-star-out-of-five and call the album "dull".[28] The Daily Telegraph writer Helen Brown was positive on the album, gave it four-out-of-five-star and wrote: "In the past decade, it seems Jones has made a sneaky transition from dinner party backdrop to David Lynch soundtrack."[16]

MSN Music picked the album as Album of the Week and praised it with four-out-of-five-star and noted, "It may be a cliché, but Jones has proven that heartbreak makes good music."[29] Jim Farber of New York Daily News was also positive on the album, called it "undeniably darker Norah than we’ve heard before", gave it a four-out-of-five-star and wrote: "True to its title, Little Broken Hearts amounts to an end-of-the-relationship concept album, told from the point of view of a woman in full control of her poisonous feelings. Unsurprisingly, Jones went through a break-up right before creating the music. To seal the mood, she came up with a sound as broodingly coherent as the soundtrack to a domestic drama."[23] The Washington Post was positive on the album, highlighting the opening track of the record, "Good Morning" and said: "Thematic albums are increasingly rare these days, good ones rarer still. Jones and Burton pull it off."[30] Boston Globe was also positive on the record saying: "There are enough good musical ideas here to keep the mind from wandering, and it brings her squarely into contemporary pop without sounding contrived."[31] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune gave it a three-star-out-of-four and said: "There are enough good musical ideas here to keep the mind from wandering, and it brings her squarely into contemporary pop without sounding contrived."[32] musicOMH was also positive on the album, gave it a four-out-of-five-star and praised the team for the collaboration and said: "The team assembled here have done something quite remarkable, and this new-found partnership between Jones and Burton could perhaps lead to some very fine collaborations on future albums."[18] Rolling Stone reviewer Will Hermes said "her fifth album is a brand-rejigging songwriting collab with Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton that both picks up her pace and pumps up her palette." and gave it a three-and-a-half star out of five and closed the review with: "even good girls need revenge sometimes."[20] Enio Chiola of Pop Matters also gave a positive review to the album, scored it as seven out of ten, praised Jones for her writing skill and said: "instead of picking apart the tracks that work best, the entire album plays like a cohesive whole, somehow frayed and fragmented if not left intact."[19] Spin was very positive on the album, score it as eight out of ten and wrote: "Little Broken Hearts is exciting because it explores the darkest corners of betrayal, bad love, and jealousy with enough vitality to propel Jones out of the bloodless purgatory of brunch music."[21] Andrea Warner of Exclaim! was also very positive on it and said: "This Norah Jones is damaged, dangerous and vulnerable, and Burton's mastery of sound helps deepen the relationship between listener and song."[33]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Norah Jones and Brian Burton

No.TitleLength
1."Good Morning"3:17
2."Say Goodbye"3:27
3."Little Broken Hearts"3:12
4."She's 22"3:10
5."Take it Back"4:06
6."After the Fall"3:42
7."4 Broken Hearts"2:59
8."Travelin' On"3:06
9."Out on the Road"3:28
10."Happy Pills"3:34
11."Miriam"4:25
12."All a Dream"6:29
Target Exclusive Bonus Disc [34]
No.TitleLength
13."I Don't Wanna Hear Another Sound"3:33
14."Killing Time"3:41
15."Out on the Road (Mondo Version)"3:20

Personnel

Credits confirmed by Allmusic:[35]

Release history

Country Date Label
United Kingdom April 30, 2012 Parlophone/EMI
United States May 1, 2012 Blue Note/EMI

References

  1. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2012-04-30). "Norah Jones Little Broken Hearts Allmusic Review". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  2. ^ a b Kivel, Adam (2012-04-25). "Album Review: Norah Jones – Little Broken Hearts". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  3. ^ a b Norah Jones to debut new songs at SXSW Jambands.com. February 22, 2012.
  4. ^ a b First Listen: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts' NPR Music. April 15, 2012
  5. ^ a b c d Diehl, Matt (2012-03-04). "Norah Jones, Danger Mouse Craft Moody, 'Weird' LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  6. ^ "Norah Jones details her Danger Mouse-Produced 'Broken Little Hearts'". Exclaim!. 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  7. ^ Mudhoney, Norah Jones and a Vintage Film Poster. New York Times. February 21, 2012.
  8. ^ Norah Jones - Happy Pills (SoundCloud) SoundCloud. February 26, 2012
  9. ^ Amazon.com: Happy Pills: Norah Jones
  10. ^ Norah Jones - Travelin' On (SoundCloud) SoundCloud. February 26, 2012
  11. ^ Norah Jones' Concert Listing
  12. ^ Gurtenfestival 2012 Programm List
  13. ^ "Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival 2012 LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO" on YouTube
  14. ^ a b c "Little Broken Hearts". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  15. ^ a b Moore, Marcus J. (2012-04-19). "Norah Jones Little Broken Hearts Review". BBC. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  16. ^ a b Brown, Helen (2012-04-27). "Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts, CD review". Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  17. ^ a b Maerz, Melissa (2012-04-26). "Music Review Little Broken Hearts (2012)". CNN. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  18. ^ a b Burgess, Andrew (2012-04-30). "Music Norah Jones Little Broken Hearts - Album review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-04-30. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 6 (help)
  19. ^ a b Chiola, Enio (2012-05-01). "Review Norah Jones Little Broken Hearts". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  20. ^ a b Hermes, Will (2012-05-01). "Review Norah Jones Little Broken Hearts". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  21. ^ a b Cavalieri, Nate (2012-04-24). "Norah Jones, '...Little Broken Hearts'". Spin. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  22. ^ a b Gill, Andy (2012-04-27). "Album: Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts (Blue Note)". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  23. ^ a b Farber, Jim (2012-04-30). "Album Review: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  24. ^ Deusner, Stephen. "Norah Jones: Little Broken Hearts Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  25. ^ Copseyi, Robert (2012-04-18). "Music Norah Jones Little Broken Hearts - Album review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-04-18. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 6 (help)
  26. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (2012-04-30). "Album: Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts (Review)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  27. ^ Empire, Kitty (2012-04-29). "Norah Jones: Little Broken Hearts – review". Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
  28. ^ Kot, Greg (2012-04-29). "Album: Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts (EMI)". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
  29. ^ Low, Shereen (2012-04-30). "Norah Jones: Little Broken Hearts - Album Of The Week". MSN. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  30. ^ "Music Review: Working with Danger Mouse, Norah Jones sings of heartbreak". The Washington Post. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  31. ^ "Album Review: Little Broken Heart - Norah Jones". Boston Globe. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  32. ^ Kot, Greg (2012-04-30). "Album review: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  33. ^ Warner, Andrea (2012-05-01). "Album review: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  34. ^ "orah Jones - Little Broken Hearts Only at Target". Target. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
  35. ^ Allmusic | Little Broken Hearts - Norah Jones - Credits Allmusic. April 28, 2012.
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