Sara Bareilles makes me smile. I adore her poppy vibe, incredible range, and sweet, soulful lyrics. Plus, she has a teeny sparkly stud in her nose. I always wanted one of those because I thought maybe it would give me a little aesthetic edginess, but ultimately backed off for fear of booger build up. Gross.
Anyway, the hubs just brought home her latest album, Kaleidoscope Heart, which he so willingly reluctantly picked up for me from the local library.
Sidebar: do you know the abundance of cool stuff you can obtain from the library for free? Books - duh. CDs - good ones, not just Michael Bolton's greatest hits. DVDs - films old and new, TV series, documentaries. Go visit your local library and reap the benefits of paying your city taxes!
Bareilles debuted in 2007 with the wildly popular "Love Song", and I immediately was drawn to her easygoing singer-songwriter vibe (and said nose ring). After thoroughly enjoying her major-label effort, Little Voice, I was further enchanted with a live album called Live at the Fillmore. She does a cover of Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" that both gave me chills and made me miss college sing-a-longs.
So, when her newest album hit the shelves, I was ready for more loveliness but also apprehensive. Major labels have a tendency to oppress good music sometimes, and I feared for Bareilles and all the things I loved about her. Turns out my fears were all in vain. Kaleidoscope Heart is fun. It rocks. It's heartbreaking and silly, all at once. All the things that make an album good.
"Uncharted" is the second track and, in my humble opinion, far better than the lead single "King of Anything". The lyrics are a tad pessimistic, but the overall tone makes me want to frolic with butterflies and draw pictures of rainbows.
Take a listen to the live version below, and be reminded that good live talent still exists (I'm talking to you, Britney and Ke$ha):