Album Review: Pick Me Up Off The Floor by Norah Jones
Image Sourced From All Music
Release Date: June 12, 2020
Genre: Jazz, Pop/Rock
Number of Tracks: 11
You may not have heard of Norah Jones, nor listened to any of her songs for that matter, and for that you can be forgiven. She has spent her last two albums, Begin Again and Day Breaks collaborating and having fun with music, which means that her music has not been sugary enough to make its way to mainstream media. The phenomenal songstress remains recognisable largely because of her very successful Come Away With Me released almost two decades ago. This year, she returned with Pick Me Up Off The Floorwhich is the result of her revisiting songs that did not make it to the last two albums. A venture that has produced an authentic sound that should gain her a couple of new fans whilst keeping the rest of us dated for a year or two.
How I Weep, the first track on the album, is a simple yet powerful ballad about weeping for a loss, suffering under its weight till the recognition that the loss is not holding you, you holding the loss. Throughout the rest of the album, Ms. Jones canorous carries in the air like rustling dried leaves.
Ms. Jones replicates a sound she defined in her 2009 album, The Fall, in Flame Within. The 3 minutes track is about two lovers caught in a fiery dance of attraction, love and impossibilities but you would hardly know that after you have been carried away by the beautiful tune of the piano. Yes, this album holds that signature sound that if you are a listener that defaults to music and not lyrics, will be reassuring.
Hurts To Be Alone betrays the fact that Norah Jones is no poet but in fact a talented singer and a dedicated songwriter that sometimes repeats the same lines for whatever reason and the music remains compelling.
Heartbreak songs do not get more therapeutic than Heartbroken, Day After. Over a splendid harmonising and oh, that piano, Ms. Jones sings about self-truth, discovery and healing as the song grows on you. It leads you to Say No More where she commands a lover to (by all means) take all of her in even though she is supposed to be out of bounds and undone. The trumpet on this track is glorious, bringing the jazz of Ms. Jones’ voice to the fore effortlessly.
This Life may be a little vague on its meaning as for a minute, one cannot say what is meant by life as its known being over, but Ms. Jones is joined by other lovely voices to sing about frozen hearts and breaking bonds, it becomes evident that this, too is about a love story coming to an end. But maybe, it can be about how the world is messed up now, too?
Next, Ms. Jones invites herself (whose heart has been broken) and you (who is stuck in your head) To Live in the moment and find your true place. Which is just alright as she declares, I’m Alive in the face of gloom and pain.
Were You Watching? asks a lover to take responsibility for a relationship burnt in a song not like anything I have heard from Ms. Jones before. With the regular piano in the background, a violin plays a heart wrenching music that rides with Ms. Jones voice and strikes you like a thousand arrows.
In Stumble On My Way, Ms. Jones sings about finding and holding on to what is hers, but stumbling along the way. Slow with inspiring lyrics, this song may be ideal for those times things look dark.
The album ends with Heaven Above, musing a love lost, under a strong wave of nostalgia.
Pick Me Up Off The Floor is a refreshing album from Norah Jones, thankfully different from what she has put out in the last two years. It may not be to the taste of some, but if you give it the chance, the album might ease its way in; especially if you start with the headliner (How I Weep) and one of the best songs from the album [if not the best song](Were You Watching?). Lubricated by rhythmic piano and melodious violin tunes, the album comes to occupy you, taking you on a soothing, soft, ride.
Rating: 8.2/10
