Norah Jones – Visions

Soft jazz-pop 2000s darling Norah Jones has many accolades to her name, including nine Grammys, five Billboard Music wins and four World Music Awards. The noughties were good to Jones and the star has continuously released music since. Her ninth project, Visions, sees the light of day on 8^th March 2024. Smooth, soulful jazz tracks are what Jones knows best, and with the help of multi-instrumentalist and producer Leon Michels, this new album proves it.

The record begins with the sultry and sweet All This Time. She reminisces on a past love as birds chirp in the background to mimic a morning day, thus providing retrospection into the brightest points of a doomed relationship. The album may begin grounded on Earth, but each track elevates the listener further and further into the clouds alongside Jones and her restless mind.

Staring at the Wall follows and paves a delicate path: Jones describes her darker thoughts about work and relationships as the day turns to night. The tune has a relatability factor, and the contrasts between the soft piano, steady drums, tambourine and electric guitar, echo the inner conflict she is expressing.

In Paradise, the singer’s staccato imitates a short and snippy attitude. She recognises her pain and compares it to a burning fire yet still attempts to bargain with herself. The poetic Queen of the Sea expands upon this, and although she references potentially moving on and reaching a freer state, she eloquently asks the “what-ifs” of love.

The title track transitions into a sadder state of mind. The sombre guitar and horns combined with Jones’ longing delivery act as a lullaby. Jones also uses devastating imagery, like an everlasting willow tree as a metaphor for what she once thought was true love, to emphasise her hurt and how her visions consume her. Running is transitional lyrically and sonically: while Visions lulled the listener into sleep alongside her, this track is as if the listener and Jones are experiencing the same hazy nightmare. 

I Just Wanna Dance may be simple, but it is sweet. While the repetitiveness of Running was gracefully chaotic, Jones enters a state of peace in this song. She refuses to continue the brooding from all that came before this moment and provides an uncomplicated jazz number with more assistance from Michels’ saxophone. I’m Awake has a psychedelic atmosphere that signals to the listener that the pain is nearing its end. The soft and wavy instrumentals add to the foggy feeling of just waking up from a deep slumber. 

Although Jones has said she is awake, Swept Up in the Night has a mystical aura that matches the connotation of the word “visions”. Between its religious imagery and beautiful sonic progression, listeners are placed in an out-of-Earth experience like no other. Swept Up in the Night represents the whole of the record thematically and audibly, which leads into the final moments of Visions excellently.

On My Way brings back the sampled chirping birds from All This Time. The motivational and musing lyrics show a shift in Jones’s thinking: from fond retrospection to forceful yet necessary separation, the singer introduces a new day by moving along from a negative past and present to a bright, open future.

Alone With My Thoughts is the record’s most saddening number. Jones’ self-harmonisation is as gorgeous as always, and although straightforward, each lyric is notable both in articulation and concept.  The piano, coupled with the slow rumble of the symbols, set the scene similarly to Swept Up in the Night where listeners can find themselves drifting through a starry night sky.

That’s Life is effortless and matter-of-fact. Jones explains the trials of life alongside her classic piano runs, which gradually turn into an organ and grandly finishes the project on a solid note.

Overall, Visions is quintessential Norah Jones: elegant keys, jazz-filled horn moments and retro vocals decorate the album and set the scene for each story being told. Many can relate to restless thoughts at night and Jones presents hers fluidly and poetically. Don’t Know Why may have kickstarted the singer 22 years ago, but she remains impressively consistent and true to her sound.

Taryn Crowley
Image: Joelle Grace Taylor

Visions is released on 8^th March 2024. For further information or to order the album visit Norah Jones’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Paradise here: