Leona Naess captures the beauty of simplicity in her new self-titled album. Light percussion, piano and a beautiful blend of strings are all incorporated, giving her music a purity and light-hearted mood. The album has a predominately sleepy feel and a strong resemblance to Norah Jones, yet Naess’ music still possesses a uniqueness.
Naess’ enchanting vocals and the simple-yet satisfying-melody of the first track, “Calling,” draws you in and introduces you to the theme of the entire album: love. Dealing mainly with romantic love, Naess also reflects on other relational loves, such as family.
Many of the tracks give a melancholy impression of Naess’ view on life and love. Yet beneath the surface lies a positive message: Naess wants to remind us that it is good to feel and love’s trials can take us to amazing places in life.
With the exception of “Ballerina,” all songs were written solely by Naess and reveal to listeners her thoughts on love and lessons she has learned. Listening to her music is like reading the journal of a close friend. Naess is sharing with listeners the wisdom she’s attained from past relationships.
The first five tracks are written about letting go of the past and the remaining six about looking at what’s ahead. To sum it up, the songs teach us about being ready to accept or give love whenever it comes.
Naess gives credit to producer Ethan Johns for her achievements on this album.
Johns’ primary focus is to manipulate the music into the best quality that can be achieved. Johns keeps the music pure by absence of effects. The album was recorded in a homemade studio devoid of TVs, computers and a separate place for the recording console. Most of the tracks are first recordings, with the exception of a few third and fourth takes. As a whole, Naess’ album is honest.
For Naess, this album is more like a debut. It differs from her first two in that it has a more personal touch.
Naess has come a long way since her introduction to music at 14, and has finally composed an album that she feels is the best reflection of herself. It’s something a songwriter-rather than a producer-would create. Naess considers this album more of a risk because of its simplicity, deriving itself from her decision to produce from the standpoint of her own artistic freedom.
Naess’ work on this album is powerful because it’s something we can all relate to. It’s a good piece because it reflects the honest work of an artist who has put together a sincere collection of her thoughts and published them with her smooth, sweet vocals and soulful blend of music.
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Naess’ new album Norah Jones-esque
Page Miller / The Reflector
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October 10, 2003
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