Back in April, singer Michelle Branch came out with “Hopeless Romantic,” her third full-length studio record. It’s the first album she’s released since “Hotel Paper” in 2003. The time away from the radio public inspired magazine headlines like “What Happened to Michelle Branch?” upon her return.
The new record was co-produced and co-written with Patrick Carney of the Black Keys, Branch’s boyfriend, who helped Branch zero in on a dusky synth-pop feel. (Carney plays in Branch’s touring band as well.) There’s a new-wave gene that’s expressing itself on Branch’s latest. But Branch throws in some tender balladry, too. The record is about losing and finding love and growing up. Branch, who had her first hit with “Everywhere” in 2001, had considered quitting music over the past 10 years because of being caught in label limbo, among other things. She grew up as a teen-pop star, and she’s got a child now and been through a divorce.
She’s matured a bit and she’s ready for her music to be a more accurate reflection of her life experience and her own voice than to have it be some focus-grouped pop confection. Another side benefit of sitting on the sidelines for a dozen years or so: Branch had a ton of material to choose from for the new record.
Michelle Branch performs at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven, Saturday, Aug. 5, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $27. collegestreetmusichall.com
