IN REVIEW
CORINnE bailey Rae
Black Rainbows
Reviewer: David Weddle
Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae’s brand new album ‘Black Rainbows’, is out September 15th. The record, Corinne’s fourth studio album, draws inspiration from a display curated by Theaster Gates in a Chicago museum. The display is called ‘The Stoney Island Arts Bank’, which is a carefully curated collection of Black archives, including books, sculpture, records, furniture, and ‘problematic’ objects from America’s past. Seeing the display evoked an emotional response in Corinne, and ‘Black Rainbows’ is a musical manifestation of those emotions.
"Engaging with these archives and encountering Theaster Gates and his practice has changed how I think about myself as an artist and what the possibilities of my work can be." Corinne explains.
There is no denying the emotion in the album; you can feel it from the very start with ‘A Spell, A Prayer’, with its haunting backing vocals giving an almost choir-like feel to the track. Before breaking out into a crescendo of instruments that complement Corinne’s almost poetic lyrics.
The album’s namesake, ‘ Black Rainbows’, is driven by a solitary drum beat that leads you into an experimental collection of sounds that intrigue and confuse at the same time but are definitely impossible to ignore.
In fact, there isn’t a track on the album that can be overlooked for its creative use of sound that helps to invoke emotions in the listener. The album is definitely unconventional in its musical style, and that is to its credit. ’New York Transit Queen’ is full of heavily distorted guitars with a 90’s grunge sound that sets it apart from the rest of the album musically but fits in perfectly on an emotional level.
Corinne’s voice is the star of the show on ‘Put It Down’, and ‘Peach Velvet Sky’ has a real theatrical feel to it. Listening to the album from start to finish does feel a little like walking through a museum installation, with different sounds hitting the senses with each individual display. Corinne’s use of sound to hit the soul of the listener is both unique and shows a real, in-depth understanding of human emotions.
The album is very insightful in its lyrical content and showcases Corinne Bailey Rae’s musicianship and songwriting as well as her theatrical side. ‘Black Rainbows’ is a timeless masterpiece that everyone should hear.
"Engaging with these archives and encountering Theaster Gates and his practice has changed how I think about myself as an artist and what the possibilities of my work can be." Corinne explains.
There is no denying the emotion in the album; you can feel it from the very start with ‘A Spell, A Prayer’, with its haunting backing vocals giving an almost choir-like feel to the track. Before breaking out into a crescendo of instruments that complement Corinne’s almost poetic lyrics.
The album’s namesake, ‘ Black Rainbows’, is driven by a solitary drum beat that leads you into an experimental collection of sounds that intrigue and confuse at the same time but are definitely impossible to ignore.
In fact, there isn’t a track on the album that can be overlooked for its creative use of sound that helps to invoke emotions in the listener. The album is definitely unconventional in its musical style, and that is to its credit. ’New York Transit Queen’ is full of heavily distorted guitars with a 90’s grunge sound that sets it apart from the rest of the album musically but fits in perfectly on an emotional level.
Corinne’s voice is the star of the show on ‘Put It Down’, and ‘Peach Velvet Sky’ has a real theatrical feel to it. Listening to the album from start to finish does feel a little like walking through a museum installation, with different sounds hitting the senses with each individual display. Corinne’s use of sound to hit the soul of the listener is both unique and shows a real, in-depth understanding of human emotions.
The album is very insightful in its lyrical content and showcases Corinne Bailey Rae’s musicianship and songwriting as well as her theatrical side. ‘Black Rainbows’ is a timeless masterpiece that everyone should hear.