Christina Perri’s newest album, “Head or Heart,” starts out slowly and ends pretty slowly as well.
Perri, most well-known for her singles “Jar of Hearts” and “A Thousand Years,” generally sticks to ballads and slow songs whenever she releases an album.
Even though it seems as if no one has heard from Perri since she released the song for the “Breaking Dawn” soundtrack, she did release a Christmas EP in 2012, cleverly titled “A Very Merry Perri Christmas.”
Most of the songs on “Head or Heart” follow the pattern of ballads, but many of the songs have happy lyrics, which generally clash with the slow and solemn instrumentals.
However, some of the album’s tracks stick out from the rest.
A few of the curveballs thrown into “Head or Heart” include “Burning Gold,” “Be My Forever” and “Shot Me in the Heart.”
The instrumentals in “Burning Gold” have very upbeat rhythm and match the lyrics well.
The song is sort of an anthem for people who want to turn their lives around or make a huge change in them with lyrics such as “I’ve had enough/ I’m standing up/ I need, I need a change,” and “I’m setting fire to the life that I know.”
“Be My Forever” features singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran.
With the title and the introductory lyrics, listeners might think that it’s another annoying song about being in love, but it doesn’t come across that way at all.
The song is very cute, only slightly poppy and kind of makes you bob your head to the beat.
Also, Sheeran’s vocals harmonize well with Perri’s and add a unique sound that the other songs on the album don’t have.
“Shot Me in the Heart,” starts off very edgy and Perri’s low vocals only add to the mood.
The syncopation in the verses is a little awkward, but overall the lyrics are very empowering and they talk of wanting to escape because things have been ruined and Perri feels – hopefully figuratively – shot in the heart.
Those four songs stood out the most in the album, and while some of the other songs were quite good, there’s still something to be desired.
Perri does well with slow and solemn ballads and while this album is a great listen for someone in a melancholy state, the grouping of ballads upon ballads become very dull and boring after a while.
The album does, however, illustrate the battle between a woman’s head and heart very well.
While some songs seem very happy and lackadaisical, others are quite depressing and one in particular speaks of “knowing better” when it comes to trusting.
Overall, the album is not the worst one ever, but it’s definitely not the best in Perri’s case.
KHADIJA DJELLOULI
