Music Review // Nora Joy "Nora Joy"

Nora Joy seems to have the right name for how much joy this album can bring me.  You could even go so far as to shorten the name to "N. Joy", which would be like enjoy because I do believe you will enjoy this self-titled album.  The opening song, "What I Want", has an overall feeling of pop rock, though throughout you'll notice the pianos in the chorus and the guitar work.  A rather deep and thoughtful lyric right on the first song says: "Want you to stay by my side but let me take my time".

"Brittle" has some beats and can feel like dreampop while "Pink to Blue" can come out in that pop way which makes me think of Sabrina Carpenter.  There are definitely moments where you can sing along, it feels somewhat like power pop, but by "Starlight" we slow down a little bit and I'm reminded of Plain White T's.  These are also songs about singing, which I do like when music is about music, as there is the linesL "We'll sing underneath the starlight / Keeping our dreams alive".  But in that very same song there are also the lyrics which say: "I just want this melody to last all night / Keep these melodies in your mind for all time".

Acoustics start up "Someday" which can bring out some thoughts of Paula Cole.  "Another Second" has a theme of embracing life, with the lyrics: "This life is meant for living / So I'm not going to waste another second of it", along with some big, dramatic strings.  "Your Own Design" has this drive, sort of like R.E.M. but also is just a song about being yourself.  "I Like You" is highlighted by the percussion and is just in time for Valentine's Day tomorrow.  "Wait and See" is about patience, as you can likely guess, but I do enjoy the lyrics: "There can be bumpy roads / But don't give up".

This self-titled album ends with a ballad on "For a Moment" and then a big rock sound on the final song, "Shine", which feels like it's somewhere between the singing of Adele and the guitar work of Bryan Adams.   What Nora Joy does on these sounds is take a sound which is blended from different genres, spanning rock and pop, and combines them to form a sound all her own.  This is also brought about by the vocals, which just stand out as well.  Having those vocals draw you in is also great because then you listen to these lyrics, which make for a lot of songs about a lot of lessons.