Artist:  Corinne Bailey Rae
Title:  The Sea
Label:  Capitol Records

The happy-go-lucky anthems of her debut are long gone, but there are still shades of hope—and promise—in The Sea.

In stark contrast to the generally over-produced R&B albums back in 2006, a newbie singer/songwriter's self-titled debut, Corinne Bailey Rae, was a proverbial breath of fresh air.

Thanks to the breezy, folk-laden lead single "Put Your Records On," and a slew of other sunny, summer soundtrack-worthy tracks it wasn't long before the British songstress's popularity crossed the pond and led to three Grammy nominations in key categories.

But as to be expected, everything changed for Corinne Bailey Rae when her husband of seven years, a Scottish musician named Jason Rae, was found dead in March 2008 after an apparent drug and alcohol overdose. They were so close, in fact, that she still often refers to him in the present tense when giving interviews and does in several songs on The Sea, too.

In a case of art imitating life, this private torment is certainly front and center on her sophomore outing. With little more than an acoustic guitar and simple drum beats, opening track "Are You Here" reveals Bailey Rae at her most vulnerable, while "I'd Do It All Again," is a mournful yet "no regrets" ode to loving someone even when there was strife reflected in lyrics like: "So weary/someone to love is bigger than your pride's worth/Is bigger than the pain you got for it hurts."

Later on, the mood grows a touch more upbeat in "Paris Nights/New York Mornings," one of the album's standout moments with an ambient mood and deft production value. And proving she's not exactly short on sass in the midst of heartbreak, "Paper Dolls" is a triumphant rumination on moving forward, as challenging as that can be.

That flood of emotion, which probably inspired the album's title, is what ultimately gives The Sea its heartbeat. Never overly sentimental or pandering in favor of pat answers,  listening to The Sea often reminded me of Joni Mitchell's Blue. While their musical approaches are as different as night and day, the pain they convey with their unique, affecting voices will certainly stick with you for a while. And in an age of trite, Top-40 tracks from the likes of Lady Gaga and Ke$ha, that level of honesty in art is definitely appreciated.


**This review first published on January 28, 2010.