Lovestrong [Enhanced]

Audio Mixer: Michael H. Brauer.
Recording information: Chemistry in Space Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA; Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA.
Photographer: Lani Lee.
Philadelphia-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Christina Perri found herself bearing the complex weight of a surprise platinum-selling hit in 2010 with the bare-bones break-up ballad "Jar of Hearts." Her performance of the track on the Fox show So You Think You Can Dance landed her a contract with Atlantic Records, and with that, the pressures of eking out a quality, full-length debut in time to capitalize on her overnight success (listeners who picked up the rushed, 2010 Ocean Way Sessions EP will find most of the cuts here in attendance). Luckily, the tracks that make up Lovestrong, are cut from the same cloth as her signature hit. Songs like "Bluebird," "Arms," "Sad Song," and "Black + Blue," the latter of which feels like an update on events post-"Jar of Hearts," find Perri in her comfort zone, trading barbs with past lovers over melodies spawned from countless hours listening to Brandi Carlile's "The Story," Radiohead's "Creep," and Jewel's "Who Will Save Your Soul?" It's a formula she rarely deviates from, and at 15 cuts, the endless soul searching and constant barrage of wine glass-gazing, post-relationship, magnetic poetry can get a bit thin, but her pleasant, even-handed voice and gifts for using familiar melodies in new and surprising ways (witness the countless YouTube mash-ups of "Jar of Hearts" and Beyonce's "Halo") helps to keep Lovestrong from sinking itself, no matter how much its author wishes for the cold comfort of deep waters. ~ James Christopher Monger