Begin Again

During 2018, Norah Jones concentrated her creative endeavors on a series of digital singles that found the singer/songwriter stretching herself stylistically. Usually, she pushed herself by teaming with new, unexpected collaborators, including Wilco's Jeff Tweedy -- a tactic that guaranteed a variety of sounds and songs, a practice put into sharp relief by the 2019 release of Begin Again. This brief LP collects the seven songs recorded for this project -- all but one released beforehand -- and while they're a disparate batch, they nevertheless cohere thanks to their elegant, elastic experimentation. Jones plays with presentation more than form -- arrangements run from the spooky austerity of "A Song with No Name" to "Uh Oh," an effervescent number that's deceptively dense -- but that's enough to give Begin Again an elusive charm. Every track seems to hint at a grander version than what was delivered, but the loose ends and modest scale are alluring, since they appear to offer an insight into how this fiercely imaginative, quietly fearless singer/songwriter challenges herself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine