Only a year after Begin Again, a collection of collaborative singles, Norah Jones takes another experimental approach: all of the tracks have previously been discarded during recording sessions.
As a result, Pick Me Up draws on a mixture of inspirations and styles. Piano ballad Heartbroken builds to a powerful climax, before Say No More (written with her friend and frequent collaborator Sarah Oda) leans into her love of jazz.
Jones’s vocals and piano playing briefly take a backseat on How I Weep, as exquisite strings move to the fore; the confessional Hurts to Be Alone serves as a reminder of her vocal range, her tones becoming huskier as she swaps between versions of the title: “never hurts to be alone” to “but it hurts…”.
The romantic, soulful To Live sees Jones vowing to “live in this moment, find peace in my mind”, while on resilient I’m Alive, Jones pays tribute to the power of womanhood: “She fights, almost as one / And finds her voice / She’ll march / She has no choice.” Heaven Above, one of two collaborations with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, brings proceedings to a blissful, peaceful close.
