It has been a while since I posted about an artist I am enjoying listening to. Frankly, there aren't that many that strike me enough to warrant a blog post! However, after stumbling across some videos of Sara Bareilles playing acoustic sets of her music, I decided that I really wanted to tell the world to run (not walk) to the CD store and buy "Little Voice".
I first discovered Sara when I heard the song "Love Song". This song is about as perfect a pop song as you could wish to write. It has fantastic lyrics, a kick ass chorus that you'll hum for hours after hearing it, and her voice is just perfect. The song prompted me to seek out the album, and it turned out to be my "album of 2007", resoundingly so.
There isn't a single "album filler" track on the entire CD. Every single song is well written, both musically and lyrically. Some of the harmonies make the hairs on your arms and neck stand up straight when they kick in. The production is great. And Sara's voice is anything but "little".
A great test of an artist for me is usually when I see them playing in a really stripped down acoustic environment - it tells me whether they are for real, or just well produced. I stumbled across the following video linked to via the Sara Bareilles Facebook fan page. The music pretty much speaks for itself, so I won't even try!
Watch Sara's acoustic set for Walmart's Soundcheck site (particularly "Morningside" and "Gravity").