But sweetness and light aren't the first qualities that come to mind in discussing Jones' new album, …Little Broken Hearts. She describes the first single, Happy Pills, as "different from the rest of the album, because it's upbeat" â€" musically, that is. In the peppy refrain, Jones beseeches a lover to "please just let me go," adding for good measure that she hopes "I never see your face again."
"I like the contrast of having those dark, almost mean lyrics against a happy background," Jones, 33, admits, over a lunch of pad thai and iced cola. "We needed that darkness, so that it would match the other songs."
Hearts is "obviously a heavy relationship album," though a rather unconventional one. Jones co-wrote the material with Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, the songwriter/producer noted for his work in Gnarls Barkley and Broken Bells, and with other artists. Jones met Burton several years ago while contributing vocals for Danger Mouse's 2011 album Rome.
"I asked if he would be interested in producing something for me," Jones recalls. "He said yes, but not in a normal way. I had always gone into the studio with songs ready, but he wanted us to start from scratch. We worked side by side on every line, bouncing stuff back and forth, getting inside each other's heads like crazy."
The starkly atmospheric songs that resulted are "not a diary" of Jones' experience with her ex-boyfriend, whom she won't identify by name. "There are bits of other things in there. I had a bad breakup, followed by another bad breakup. So I've done two albums based on that kind of thing." (Jones' last studio album, 2009's The Fall, followed her split from musician Lee Alexander, still her bandmate in side project the Little Willies.)
Jones is happier these days, with a "wonderful boyfriend" who shall also remain anonymous. After years on and off the road, the New York native is savoring domestic comforts.
When in Los Angeles recording Hearts, "I rented a really cool house. I went hiking a few times, but mostly I went to the studio and came home. I would listen to music and cook. I got to be kind of a grill-master â€" had lots of barbecues."
She'll leave her Brooklyn digs again soon for a tour, with U.S. dates starting June 20 in Indianapolis. "I have a new band that I'm really excited about. And it's funny, but sometimes you can relax more on the road than when you're home working everything out."
One factor Jones tries not to concern herself with is Hearts' commercial prospects. Asked if the pop market is less friendly to understated troubadours like herself than it was during her breakthrough, she says, "It probably is, but I don't really have a good perspective on that."
Jones insists, "I'm not one of those people who does Internet research on today's trends. I feel like all I can do, which is all I've ever done, is to make music I love â€" something that I can be proud of."
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar