everyone listening/posting + sharing my leaked album are all really hurting my feelings.
— christina perri (@christinaperri) March 21, 2014
and to all the people not listening and not posting and not sharing. thank you and i love you! #headorheart #aprilfirst! xx
— christina perri (@christinaperri) March 21, 2014
The album is now available to stream on iTunes radio. You can also pre-order the album. Here's my review:1. "Trust"
Perri starts her album soft and raw with the gut wrenching track that is "Trust". She opens up about love, and gives her mature thoughts on the subject. Backed by a lone guitar, Perri's vocals soar sky bound. It's a track where you can easily tell: less is more.
2. "Burning Gold"
By now some of you have already heard this track. As the album's second single, "Burning Gold" had a lot of pressure to be as entertaining as lead track "Human". Thankfully, it pulls through. The thumping starts small, but quickly progresses into a huge swinging pop production. Perri proves she can change her style with the snap of a finger. "Burning Gold" is easily a huge standout in her short and sweet discography.
3. "Be My Forever (feat. Ed Sheeran)"
The upbeat sound continues in this coffee shop anthem. Ed Sheeran stops by to visit Christina's slice of heaven, the only guest performer lucky enough to snag a spot on her album. It has a sound reminiscent of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat's duet "Lucky". Another huge win.
4. "Human"
Honestly if you haven't heard this infectious, heart touching track then you've got a problem. Even better than "Jar of Hearts", "Human" is the tale of violent love story that needs to be heard. It's easily her most personal track. It continues to ride high on the charts, bounding 41-37 on this week's CDS Music Chart Top 50. I'm hoping it continues to have success worldwide because (to me at least) I think if you produce a song this amazing and personal and don't get recognized, you'll forever have a hole in your heart. It took a lot of guts to release this track.
5. "One Night"
If Taylor Swift could produce a legitimate mature pop/country track, this would be it. That's a compliment because it has only taken Perri a few years to create such a song that Swift has longed for for 8 years. Bound together by provocative lyrics, this experience is riveting and head turning. While it's another clear win for Perri, it unfortunately only lasted a mere 3 minutes and felt excessively short. To be honest, I could tell within the the first 5 seconds that this track would be a favorite.
6. "I Don't Wanna Break"
While its uptempo drum instrumentals are a strong positive, "I Don't Wanna Break" lags behind 4 of the 5 previously displayed tracks. With that being said, the track is still a delight and could eventually become an Adult Contemporary Pop hit later this year. Her vocals on this track are the biggest win.
7. "Sea of Lovers"
Christina belts out yet another pop ballad, but this one has a special ring to it that makes it a clear and flawless track. She continues to display her impressive vocals mixed with a strong, thumping pop backing. She is comfortable in this zone, which makes this song one of the clearest tracks on this album so far. This is her safe zone, but it feels more complex when it's really not.
8. "The Words"
She can't stop making swinging pop ballads! It's overwhelming but "The Words" is yet another carefully constructed pop hit waiting to be released. Perri yet again proves that she can churn out another satisfactory track, as the album heads into the end of the road.
9. "Lonely Child"
Finally. A track that has a few flaws. Some of the lyrics are just a tad cheesy, and at this point, we've all heard her typical pop ballad style. With that being said, it's still a better than decent track. Wow. I'm so surprised that she can get away with a repetitive style. The end is amazing when she goes "cha cha cha".
10. "Run"
It might be just me, but it seems like she is showing no signs of slowing down. This time she's "running" with it, if you catch my drift. But this time, she's throwing some harsh words. She's had enough. In some parts of this track, she sounds very "Adele"-like, a compliment considering almost no one can pull off vocals that amazing. The story portrayed here has some inspirations that obviously stem from hits such as "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Cher.
11. "Butterfly"
We come to chapter 11 in the limited run series that is Head or Heart. Fluttery and mysterious, Perri wanders back to the styles we all saw on Lovestrong., here debut studio album released in spring 2011. "Butterfly" is down tempo, and while graceful, stings. It's a hard song to listen to because of its deep meaning, lyrics and overall composition.
12. "Shot Me in the Heart"
Despite it's extremely saddening title, "Shot Me in the Heart" is very uptempo and fun to listen to. Then yet again, don't let that fool you. The lyrics and material contained within "Shot Me in the Heart" is dark. It's a clever mask of a song. It's an immediate standout. As the album nears it's end, I'm just starting to understand the whole concept and "I Believe" (tee hee) I know the story that Christina Perri was trying to present on this album.
13. "I Believe"
In my opinion, it's the even more mature big sister of "Human". Built around a piano and a few more minimalistic instruments. "I Believe" is the perfect album closer. Christina closes the door and the message becomes very clear. Understanding starts to flood in, and if you were really paying close enough attention to the 50 minute story, you'll likely have tears stinging your eyes. A beautiful closer to a nearly flawless album.
Rating: 92% (A-)
Overview: Christina Perri is one of the few artists of our generation that understands how to tell a story in an album. Some may say Justin Timberlake's albums tell a story. No. One's a mixed bag, and the other is (for the most part) a cheesy sequel. Christina's Head or Heart has a part 1 and part 2 for sure, but they're packaged together. It's short and simple. None of the songs are under 3 minutes, none are over 5 minutes. Part 1 ("Head") encompasses roughly the first 6-7 tracks, put still has some flairs in other places on the album. Part 2 ("Heart") is tracks 7-13 or 8-13 (open to interpretation). In my opinion the album means a lot of things. The story: a misinterpreted love for someone who pretends to love you back. The main character (Perri) figures out what to do by the end of the album ("I Believe"). The question: "Which of my styles do you like more?". I came up with this meaning by the end; faster or slower? Christina is asking you. And finally: the promise of more. The last 90 seconds of "I Believe" has Perri chant "This is not the end of me/This is the beginning." She's promising another story that's about her, that doesn't necessarily connect to this one. That's just my opinion.
With exquisite lyrics, meanings and overall tracks, Christina delivers a masterpiece of an album. Her gut busting, heart stomping ballads have become signature for her and she doesn't fail to hold up to her reputation. I was completely blown away by this album. While it isn't my favorite of all time (because I tend to steer toward more dance inspired tracks), the emotional story showcased here was enough to steer me away from my catastrophic dance euphoria.
Christina --If you ever see this, please continue to make albums like this one. You're amazing at it and wait was worth it.
What do you think of Head or Heart? Leave your opinion below or contact me on twitter. Come back for another album review soon!
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