Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest album offers a sonic glimpse of the emotional tumult she’s experienced over the past few years. The lighthearted feeling of being in love and happily married was overshadowed by the untimely death of her husband, jazz musician, Jason Rae, in 2008. After taking a brief hiatus from recording, she gathered her bearings and created 11 songs as a musical diary that takes us inside her head and heart. Each song is carefully crafted from a combination of acoustic and electric instruments ranging from auto-harps to vintage synthesizers. Contrary to the belief that the album’s title, The Sea, was inspired by the passing of her husband, she mentioned in a radio interview that it was inspired by her late grandfather. In “I’d Do It All Again” she sings about how she would be willing to revisit past quarrels if it would mean she could be with her love once again. Overall, this album is a combination of joy and pain in the form of good music. –steve simpson
