Singer/songwriter Corrine Bailey Rae released her third studio album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers on May 13th. Her last studio album The Sea was released in 2010. The production credits the lovely singer, Paris Strother, Stephen James Brown, James Ryan Ho, and others. The writing on the album also features Amber and Paris Strother from the group KING.
The album entirely has a inviting energy, and an incredible balance of genres that fit her musical style. She uses the rim shot a lot on the majority of the records like “You Ever Think of Me”, “Caramel”, and “Night”. It is lyrically thought provoking with songs like, “The Skies Will Break” and “Green Aphrodisiac”. Can we just mention how dreamy, and gratifying that electric piano is in that song? Cool. The arrangements are unpredictable, and unbelievably solid on”Horse Print Dress”. It gives an 80’s vibe with the bass synths, very calming melody. “Taken By Dreams” has such an infectious bass line—it takes the song to another level with the rock element added to it. “Walk On”, has that Isaac Hayes “Walk On By” type of feeling to it. She goes into a rock vibe with, “In The Dark”, and the tone of kind of switches with the upbeat song, “Ice Cream Colours” a stand-out lyrically from the album. “High” is another ballad that has an early Erykah Badu energy to it. The last song on the album “Push On For The Dawn” has a nice arrangement, and the use of the organ was magnificent.
It’s always great to hear albums from pure musicians who make each record significant to the next. The rim shot seemed like a focus of the production, and she also had that warm inviting electric sound that always brings a quality of consciousness lyrically that resonates. This album has different sounds that make perfect cohesive sense to blend together. She showed tremendous growth with the concept of this album, and it’s an album that will for sure walk it’s away into being a masterpiece of music.
The Heart Speaks in Whispers is in stores now; it is also available on all digital outlets.