Released: February 10
Staging the ultimate reinvention, Caro Emerald’s Caroline van der Leeuw reemerges as The Jordan with her stunning debut solo album ‘Nowhere Near The Sky’.
Arriving a decade after the jazz pop collective’s second and most recent album, ‘The Shocking Miss Emerald’ (2013), it’s a turning point for the artist and, in stepping away from the outfit, she finally uncovers her authentic voice.
“This has been brewing in me for a long, long time – perhaps from the very beginning,” admits Caroline. “When I started as Caro Emerald, it was all so exciting, so new – I never expected to become a recording artist in the first place. And when it happened, it was this huge adventure, I got to see and do and discover things, constantly: performing, being the frontwoman, recording.”
However, her ascent up the charts, which saw the group smash Michael Jackson’s record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the Netherlands, wasn’t all roses and across 15 tracks – 12 original songs and three interludes – the singer-songwriter lays herself bare.
Opener The Room sets the tone for a project worlds away from her previous material; a piano ballad on which she leans into a lush, intimate soundscape, singing of escapism and sensuality.
Jumping between sounds and styles, with elements of trip-hop and folktronica, ‘Nowhere Near The Sky’ is a liberation, with tunes like I’m Not Sorry and Naked In The Sun allowing the musician let go of the past, while Catwalk and Someone New look to the future and embrace a new way of living.
The purity of the vocals across the set shines through the more stripped-back arrangements – a refreshing U-turn from the multi-layered recordings of her past – referencing artists like Lana Del Rey on Waste Me, which wouldn’t sound out of place on the US star’s 2013 LP ‘Ultraviolence’, and Jessie Ware on the disco-infused Temptation.
Meanwhile the spoken interludes strengthen the narrative thread that runs through the album and enhance the confessional nature of the songwriting.
For fans of the early Caro Emerald records, the transition ‘Nowhere Near The Sky’ will no doubt be a challenge, but in sharing a refreshed sound and introducing The Jordan, the Dutch superstar triumphs in crafting a captivating collection that speaks of the past while looking ahead to a bold new future.
‘Nowhere Near The Sky’ is available now.
