Norah Jones
Album: Little Broken Hearts
Label: Blue Note
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www2.norahjones.com

Lithe, woozy, dark of heart and heavy of lids, Norah Jones has clearly learned much in the hands of production maestro Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse. Never one to tread the obvious path in collaborating with established artists Burton has brought his mighty talent to bear while retaining Jones' strengths as a singer and performer - a shake up rather than a reinvention.

For her part, Jones deserves credit for passing the controls to a man whose works will always bear his hallmark, even at the expense of that of his subject, as on the characteristically future-retro sound of Rome, the Danielle Luppi album on which Burton and Jones met.

Little Broken Hearts revels in relationship breakdown, finding redemption in grooves, woozy beats and the kind of vengeful lyrics that Jones may have otherwise shied away from. Here she finds hurt, shame, betrayal, anger and revulsion are her friends, enabling a positive conclusion in which she can count a few more scars and feel stronger for it.

The gently lulling Good Morning opens the set with a deceptively sweet refrain as we learn the singer is about to fold and realises it's going to bruise. By the time she reaches All A Dream, which closes the album out, she has learned her lessons and resolved not to be bitten again… at least not in the same way.

The whole thing reaches its most dramatic and enthralling on the disturbingly enjoyable Miriam in which Jones chronicles the story of a young woman who has cheated on her boyfriend in Jones' house - a sin Jones will make her cry for. Delivered with love and sweetness rather than anger and bitterness, it encapsulates the troubling underbelly of a restrained, controlled and hugely impressive record.

Nick Churchill
www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk