Much of this deep feeling is disguised by expert studiocraft - Traces can be enjoyed as a simple adult contemporary record - but that only heightens the sense of the album's authenticity.
It's a voice that is etched with experience, which makes it a good fit for Perry's songs of memory, mourning, love, and hope. It helps that his voice shows the slightest hints of age, not reaching the same spectacular heights of his youth and often carrying a vague, appealing raspiness. Perry doesn't abandon arena rock - there is no musical evidence of his fondness for Eels - but that is one of the reasons Traces resonates so strongly: he's working the same anthemic rockers and power ballads that he always has, only infusing them with soul. Loss lurks at its edges, with Perry acknowledging the absence of his love, but he's choosing to throw himself into emotions that he avoided, at least on record. What is surprising is how Traces feels grateful, not mournful. Given this backstory, it's not entirely surprising that Traces is a somber affair, heavy on ballads and reflection.
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