Though Jones is elegant and smooth as per usual, the song struggles to be anything special.
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6
Having grown up with Norah Jones playing around the house more often than is usual, her latest offering isn’t quite a disappointment yet it is rather too familiar. Her voice is gorgeous, and her dulcet tones make her songs perfect as beautiful background music on relaxing days thanks to their lullaby-like qualities. Its accompaniment on piano, the instrument on which she composed new record Day Breaks, is a delicate and elegant renewal of the smooth jazz genre. ‘Carry On’ even has essences of country as well, with each instrument playing its part to create a wholesome sound.
Jones is forever capable of writing beautiful songs with a thoughtful approach and reflective retrospective glance in the lyrics, and ‘Carry On’ is no exception. Emotion drips forth more with each listen, especially when paired with the video of her playing for an elderly couple in their kitchen, although it feels like more of a repetition of her old repertoire.
‘Carry On’ struggles to be much more than a soundtrack for champagne-sipping in the foyer of a fancy hotel, serving the same-old routine. The lack of freshness and vibrancy drags the whole tone of the track down from great to mediocre, occasionally slipping to boring. Though it showcases her talents as a vocalist and musician, it does little in the way of showing her innovation. For the genre and what it seems to want to be, it does achieve its aims, yet it fails to generate any excitement.
‘Carry On’ is out now via Blue Note Records
