Day Breaks on Background Shuffle

Each album you come across is an invitation to experience something different. With that idea, it doesn’t have to necessarily be something new. The favourites we’ve long followed draw us in with their familiar, mastered style as a way of continuing on the creative narrative of the artists we admire. Norah Jones’ latest solo studio work does just that. 

There’s no semblance that she is trying to weigh in on other artists or challenge them to up their game. Nor does Norah Jones aim to create a new sound like the mixing of electronica, rap or EDM with popular pop soul hits and melodies from the Beatles, Ray Charles or Elton John to add to the Musicology of the century. The artist that won us over with hits like ‘Come Away With Me,’ ‘Turn Me On,’ ‘Chasing Pirates’ continues to channel her evocative soul through a fusion of jazz-country-pop.

Day Breaks is an album that begs to be listened to in a particular way. Jazz piano, soulful easy listening and blues lyrics are best played to a Summer rain or a theme party where the music adds some soul and chill-out game of poker is the centrepiece. Or perhaps they’re ‘the’ thing to accompany an ice-melting Southern Comfort n’ soda as you sit on the balcony of a high-rise city block after a long day of work, watching the bustle of day segue into the night life hours.

Key tracks that fall into this easy listening category are the single ‘Carry On,’ which tells listeners to forget and leave it all behind. Also the final track ‘Fleurette Africaine’ deserves mention. It features jazz luminary, Wayne Shorter, belting out some soprano saxophone that sounds perfectly 50s-era ‘jazz central’ vibe that Norah Jones achieved through earlier music videos like Happy Pills.

Many people I’ve met judge a new album on its ‘replay-ability’ and up tempo vibes. But mood is something that strongly drives our music selection, and Norah Jones shouldn’t be dismissed just based on the soft-sounding edge of her Day Breaks. Feeling it karaoke style?

Try some Elton John crooning pop. Feeling Nostalgic? Head to your CD rack tower and pull out some Lana Del Rey. Need some background tunes to create a subtle house flow or release the day’s challenges? Cycle through iTunes music app and hit play on some Norah Jones. Do yourself a service and give it a try.