Album Review: Norah Jones - 'Visions'
Spring is well and truly on its way as Norah Jones releases her stunning new album, ‘Visions’.
Norah Jones has proven her timeless status with her ninth studio album that was released this week. Twenty years after the sublime and unforgettable ‘Don’t Know Why’, she has shown once again that her talent is one for the ages. This release, entitled ‘Visions’ sees Jones flying free, embracing life and wanting to dance. When explaining the title and motivations behind this album, Jones spoke about how she was fuelled by her acceptance of everything that life brings, no matter the time or how bizarre:
‘The reason I called the album ‘Visions’ is because a lot of the ideas came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep. We did most of the songs in the same way where I was at the piano or on guitar and Leon was playing drums and we were just jamming on stuff. I like the rawness between me and Leon, the way it sounds kind of garage-y but also kind of soulful, because that's where he's coming from, but also not overly perfected.”
The album follows on beautifully from her 2020 release, ‘Pick Me Up Off The Floor’ bringing light and joy to the shade and vulnerability she expressed during difficult and dark times. The tracks beautifully demonstrate the fluidity and ease of her songwriting, highlighting the almost ‘off the cuff’ rawness that informs her composition. Impromptu and with an enlightened perspective, ‘Visions’ encompasses the feeling of being present and looking forward towards the light at the end of the tunnel.
The album bursts open with ‘All This Time’ and with it, we are welcomed back into Jones’ warm and comforting embrace. Its a track that revolves around three short groove patterns, cycling from one motif to the next.
‘Stay with me, I’ll make it easy’
Her lyrics are simple but wonderfully inviting and the way they repeat over and over again without needing to be expanded showcase exactly what she is trying to achieve with this album. Whilst there are plenty of fully fleshed-out songs to look forward to, this track is a window into a moment in time, a feeling that burns brightly even if only for a short time. When talking about the album, she explained that some lines and melodies came into her head out of nowhere; they were small but beautiful instances of joy that she could capture and dedicate a song to. A celebration of the little things, perhaps.
Catchy and repetitive hooks that embody brightness and joy are a big part of the record, perhaps best shown on ‘I Just Wanna Dance’. The harmonies combined with the revolving lyrics gives the track an incredibly hypnotic feel; listening to it is reminiscent of giddily spinning round on the dance floor to your favourite song. Whilst it doesn’t deviate much from the titular line, ‘I Just Wanna Dance’, the way in which Jones delivers the lyrics means the track is constantly in motion and never feels like you’re hearing the same thing over and over again. Whether its slight adjustments to the melody, certain inflections and emphasis put on specific words, light and shade created by volume dynamics or playing around with the timings of the phrasing, Jones demonstrates on this song how much you can convey with so few words.
A personal favourite on the album has to be ‘Staring at the Wall’. In many ways, it is quite different the other songs, making its placement as the second track all the more interesting. Leaning towards a more rootsy and earthy sound, Jones’ tone here is at times beautifully jaded and frank. In comparison to ‘All This Time’, her voice is weathered and the lyrics point still to a quiet optimist but one who has been through a great deal.
‘Walk in the room, starin’ at the wall and I wonder what I came in for at all. Need to travel out of my brain, its hard to get in rhythm with the pain. Someone tell me what the hell is wrong, rights always feel quiet and too long’.
The twangy guitar which is constant throughout the track is very reminiscent of folky Americana, which works well with the at times morose lyrics. So much of the track oozes blues, from the instrumentation and drum patterns to the harmonies and piano triads. I would be intrigued to see this number played live, perhaps in a slower and more acoustic style where Jones’ raspiness can really take centrestage.
The album comes to a close with the wonderfully titled ‘That's Life’. You can’t read the name of the track and not think back to cartoons that would end with sentiments like ‘That’s all folks’ and as such theres an almost ‘Old-Hollywood’ glamour and glitzy panache that comes with how this album ends. The track begins with just vox and piano but has a beautiful build within it that make it truly feel like a last hurrah. Again on this number, Jones uses her words wisely and the lyrics always relate back to the title phrase, ‘That's Life’.
‘You get lost, you get found, you find love, come unwound. Talk too much, hit the ground, you break up, you break down. Down, down, down again; oh, down again. That’s life, that’s life, that's life, that’s life.
Its imperative to consider this track within the context of what the album as a whole is trying to convey. Jones has herself admitted that this album comes after a very crazy time of her life. Whilst ultimately the tone is one of looking forward to the future, this track is the final goodbye where she looks back on things; some of it fun, some of it sad, and a lot of it confusing. She is negotiating with the idea of closure which has previously felt so important but has come to the realisation that, ultimately, life is what you make of it. Whether it should be read as a goodbye to all she endured before or a hello to the visions of joy she has to look forward to is up for debate but the message she is getting across os that all you can do is your best.
The best thing about Visions is the way it marries together all of Jones’ influences throughout the years. Across twelve beautiful songs, you can pick out elements of country, folk, jazz, pop and it is because of its variety of genre and style that this album is the joy to listen to that it is. Norah Jones remains a tour de force showing the versatility of her instrument, and her delivery has such an ‘off-the-cuff’ feel to it that the whole album sounds as though it was improvised in the greatest of all jam sessions.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
