Corinne Bailey Rae’s Highly Anticipated, “The Sea”
By: Brian Bowers
The smooth, sultry voiced songbird that won the world over with hit songs such as “Like a Star” and “Put Your Record On” returns to us with her sophomore effort “The Sea.” In recent interviews regarding her return, Corinne confesses during her break from the industry she was experiencing a period of tremendous loss and grieving.
The dole-eyed singer was on hiatus following the tragic loss of her husband a couple of years ago. Late 2009, however, the lead single from her newly released project entitled “I’d Do it All Again” accurately summarizes the sonic expression of a great loss, but a life and love greater than remorse and, or regret.
“The Sea” is full of a vast array of emotions, but the tone of the album is overwhelmingly seeped in the blues and retrosoul. A title apropos for a life experiences that we all can connect to as human beings navigating this experience we call living. In the words of Agnes De Mille:
“Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.”
Corinne’s latest work is a bold leap into heavy soul wrenching music accented by a deliberate vocal styling that is characteristically her own. This is one work that welcomes any listener looking to take a journey into the soul of an artist finding her voice and finding her way.
