Suzanne’s seventh album revolves around the theme of New York, the city where Vega was raised and still lives. The eleven original songs on Beauty & Crime remind those of us who are old enough to remember Tom’s Diner (complete with its myriad remixes) why we fell in love with Suzanne in the first place. From the driving opener ‘Zephyr & I’, which recounts a conversation with the seminal graffiti artist while strolling down West End Avenue, to the ghosts of Lower East Side haunts depicted in ‘Ludlow Street’ to ‘New York is a Woman’, which personifies the city as a hard-luck lady whose beauty still shines, Vega captures the spirit of her hometown’s past, present and future. The album also includes two of her most personal songs yet, a love song for her husband with ‘Bound’ and a dedication to her daughter with ‘As You Are Now’.

Blue Note