Corinne Bailey Rae’s new album The Heart Speaks In Whispers belongs to a crop of what we may call artistry devoid of “collective era”; it does not belong to a particular genre or school that matches popular sentiment. It could be liberal or neo-liberal subculture art, where it exists to express the artist and that’s it. It’s true art: individual art without a grand obligation, at a time of polarized politics, and because of this, The Heart Speaks In Whispers may be fated to be quietly labeled as an uncompassionate album. If one can listen to the parts of a song, singing is often unclear because of its sincerity, coupled with abstract expressionist synth sounds, then you have found yourself a grand experience.
Which era do we belong to? Surely not one of immense prosperity. It’s an era of pain for most thus our politics and most musicians signed to well-known labels push the fact aside to sell great visuals and Belle Epoque. Others add in “profound: lyrics that empathize without expressing contemporary habits or survival culture. Some are so good at what they do that their songs, despite being divorced of popular sentiment, are very enjoyable. Bailey Rae belongs to this group of artists. She does not belong to any monikered era and her music is quite simply productions that are meant to be appreciated by listeners.
“Night” is a song with such sharp parts (sharp as in cheese) that one does not have a firm grasp on the whole at the songs end. The song’s parts are both acoustic and electronic music. Her singing is often unclear and we’re asked to feel much more we are asked to understand. It seems to be vehicle-ing faith in beauty and in feeling as opposed to faith in wording and perhaps it is an answer to living in modern societies full of lying politicians and lying media. It, however, is not clear enough to be such a song.
Most of the songs have familiar rhythms. They are either singer-songwriter songs, children of folk, are soulful R and B songs with both quiet and expansive songs. Some of the songs “Push On For The Dawn” is very good. It is a giant metaphor and sounds like a long epic poem put to song. “Horse Print Dress” doesn’t make sense at first listen nor will a listener want to make any sense of it. None of the songs are danceable nor do they have an understanding of how to dance others. All of them are groovy.
“Stop Where You Are” has an incredible beginning. It’s pure majesty and pure beauty. It speaks to our need for individual liberty. The rest of the song is less beautiful than the song’s beginning.
The Heart Speaks In Whispers should be listened to as a the music of an artist’s personality and tastes. As such it is divorced from popular sentiment and collective living. It wants to impose itself on collective living.
Buy The Heart Speaks In Whispers
Author: Adolf Alzuphar
