Corinne Bailey Rae — The Sea

Corinne Bailey Rae, the bubbly, bike-riding, curly-coiffed "Put Your Records On" crooner, returns with The Sea, an eleven-track tribute to love, loss, and no regrets. Rae is certainly no stranger to loss, losing husband and bandmate Jason Rae in early 2008. The Sea, she admits, owes much of its melody to his passing. That melancholy heavily resonates on the opener, "Are You Here" and lead single, "I'd Do It All Again," where Rae reveals, "You're searching for something I know won't make you happy." It's this thinly-veiled reference that stitches each song together. Whether with soul ("Closer"), hope ("I Would Like to Call It Beauty"), or heart ("Diving for Hearts"), the British songstress builds a largely successful—albeit unfortunate—story. Rae temporarily stumbles, her vocals getting lost amid the frenzied, back-and-forth, continent-crossing "Paris Nights/New York Mornings," but regains her footing on the farewell-filled title track, "The Sea." The Sea is out now on Capitol... Read More »