The new solo project by Caroline van der Leeuw, better known as Caro Emerald, is a welcome surprise. The cheerful, sunny sounds she presented with her Caro Emerald band have been replaced by the trip-hop album ‘Nowhere Near The Sky,’ which bears a striking resemblance to the British band Portishead. It’s a significant change, but the question remains whether the entire album is successful.
While Caro Emerald sounded like a solo artist, there was a complete band behind her. Caroline van der Leeuw, with The Jordan, named after the neighborhood in Amsterdam where she comes from, now stands alone. This was a deliberate choice because she wanted to make music for the sake of making music, not for commercial reasons. With ‘Nowhere Near The Sky,’ she delivers a debut album with music she has wanted to create for years but had no space for within the band.
Hits like ‘A Night Like This‘ and ‘Back It Up’ are now behind the singer. With The Jordan, she is less commercial, but her unique sound is still a work in progress. Where Caro Emerald precisely knew their musical direction, Caroline solo is still searching. ‘Nowhere Near The Sky’ contains potential hits but also some tracks that miss the mark.
Easy listening on The Jordan – ‘Nowhere Near the Sky’
The opener, ‘The Room,’ has a mystical quality, offering a new sound where Caroline’s voice stands out. It bears some resemblance to London Grammar’s ‘Strong.’ However, the whole album does not follow this atmosphere. After an interlude, we have the two biggest hits of the album, ‘Naked in the Sun,’ ‘Best Damn Day,’ and ‘Temptation.’ These are the tracks that will be heard on the radio for some time—easy to listen to with very catchy choruses.
Yet not everything Caroline van der Leeuw touches turns to gold. The alternative touch to ‘Nowhere Near The Sky’ is interesting but not always well-executed. She still hovers between the commercial and alternative sides, which makes the interludes ‘What Was, Was Not,’ ‘Memento,’ and especially ‘A Price To Pay’ fall flat. Instead of connecting the album, they have the opposite effect.
Tracks that follow, such as ‘Waste Me,’ ‘Someone New,’ ‘Nothing New,’ and ‘Catwalk,’ seem somewhat lost. The expectations for The Jordan are just a bit too high. ‘Nothing New’ manages to surprise by conjuring a Nick Cage-like sound, together with Koen de Witte. Nevertheless, it remains one of the weaker tracks on ‘Nowhere Near The Sky.’ The album concludes strongly with ‘Mmm,’ which brings back some of the mystique from the opening track ‘The Room,’ highlighting Caroline’s voice.
All in all, The Jordan’s ‘Nowhere Near The Sky’ doesn’t fully meet the listener’s expectations for a debut album. The Jordan combines mystical sounds with dance, jazz, folk, and alternative pop, creating a complete mix of genres. While some tracks carry this mix well, others fall short. There is room for improvement for The Jordan. However, this is only the debut album. Who knows what Caroline van der Leeuw may have in store for the future.
