Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart

Regular readers know all too well how deep my love for Alicia Keys runs (a love which she’s sadly unaware of) so I won’t rehash my feelings again here, except to say that I love nearly everything the R&B goddess does. Nearly. The rare exception is Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart, the disappointing follow up to her DJBooth-approved lead single Doesn’t Mean Anything. As opposed to her usually piano-oriented word, Broken Heart is an electronically soaked track that booms with heavy bass and dense synths, a production style that gives the cut a distinctly 80s sound. And while Alicia delivers yet another resonant vocal performance, the soul I love so much in her work is almost completely drowned out by the heavy-handed production. I’m all for experimentation, not every track needs to be Fallin’, but I sincerely hope Broken Heart’s sound won’t become a trend for Keys. I’ll now be somewhat nervously awaiting the release of her upcoming album The Element of Freedom, due in stores on Dec. 15.