Metroline Online

"The Sea" by Corinne Bailey Rae
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Corrine Bailey Rae made a mark on U.S. music listeners a few years back with “Put Your Records On,” a lovely pop nugget that floated through the airwaves. Now, she returns, with new effort “The Sea,” which builds upon its predecessor and offers some equally enjoyable pop nuggets, although with an undertone of pain that followed husband Jason Rae’s death, and that pain is felt in this album, but instead of overwhelming the album, it strengthens it.
The good news is Rae’s voice is in as fine a form as ever, and the album offers a nice variety of soul and R&B to keep fans satisfied.

First single “I’d Do it All Again” is a quiet, slightly funky track that will likely win over the soul fans. The hauntingly beautiful Rae’s singing builds to a crescendo with the strings as the song progresses. An absolutely beautiful introduction to the album.

For the most part the album is a subdued affair, but Rae turns up the tempo with “The Blackest Lily, “Paper Dolls” and “Paris Nights/New York Mornings,” the latter of which has one of the most infectious retro-tinged beats I’ve heard since some of the tracks on Emma Bunton’s “Free Me” album and is a must listen.

One thing that’s quite enjoyable about the whole affair is it all feels organic - there isn’t the synthetic beats or instrumentation you hear on a lot of music nowadays. It feels more raw, more emotional, and the fact that the entire album is cohesive brings it all together nicely. She works with the same team that made her first effort a win, and the entire affair wins you over during the first listen. Rae is a talent, and the entire team came up aces again.

The album comes out January 26, but if you want to check it out before then, NPR is having a first listen event around the album. Of course, after that, you can order the album as a CD or MP3 by visiting our Web site, www.metroline-online.com.

Kelis - Acapella

In other music release news, Kelis is making a welcome comeback in 2010. The artist who unleashed such madness as “Milkshake,” “Bossy” and “Caught Out There” has taken a much more danceable take with her new single, “Acapella,” which features some of Kelis’ best vocals to date in front of a strong, fun dance beat. Kelis’s music has always been a bit edgy and a lot of fun. This time, she tones down the personality to a certain degree, but picks up a strong hook and the beat is provided by David Guetta, who has done more to push forward dance music as a legitimate genre since Georgio Marauder. The track is definitely worth checking out, and we should expect more good things from her. Of course, to expect anything different would be crazy.

Jennifer Lopez as Lola - Fresh Out the Oven

Jennifer Lopez takes on an alter ego, something which seemed to work for Beyonce (even though this music reporter initially didn’t find much to gain from it), but it seemed to be as good an excuse as any to jumpstart Lopez’s music career, which has been quiet for a bit. The track has her voice pushed through Autotune at times, which does no service to her, but the track isn’t too bad. This reviewer got ahold of dance mixes that liven up the party, although the album version is a serviceable urban track. Lopez does a bit of rapping, but her voice doesn’t really function well there; she’s pitchy at times, odd given the Autotune use in other places. Still, it’s about on par with other tracks, and features another nice guest appearance by Pitbull. Worth at least a listen to see if it’s your thing.