Music Review: Sara Bareilles' "Little Voice"

I know that it's been a while since you've heard from me. When life intervenes, there's nothing stopping it. But I've come back with something new for you that's really great. Get ready folks. It's the real deal.

I've said in the past that I love going to concerts and discovering a new artist. This story is no different.

I was headed to DC to the 9:30 Club, one of my favorite venues, to see Aqualung (a.k.a. the very British Matt Hales and his band). On stage was a keyboard waiting to be played. A young woman walks out, sits down, and that was the moment I turned into a fan. Her name is Sara Bareilles. Her debut CD, released on July 3 of this year, is called Little Voice.

When Sara sings, it's nothing but captivating. You know an opening act is good when the venue quiets and pays attention as they would with the headlining act. Her melodies are calming. Her music floats around you. Audiences listen in a daze.

So many times nowadays, the voices of the artist are mediocre, but they've made up for it with their instruments. What stuck out about Bareilles was that the piano, guitar, and percussion followed her voice, instead of the other way around. Instruments complemented her singing instead of overpowering it, like with so many others.

Bareilles, a graduate of UCLA, has no formal music training, which makes her story even more amazing. It's her natural talent that has gotten her signed with Epic Records. She's performed in local Los Angeles venues such as the Hotel Cafe, the same singer-songwriter venue that gave us Rachael Yamagata and Cary Brothers.

Her single, Love Song, was chosen last month as one of iTunes' free singles of the week. I hope that got her some exposure that she so deserves.

The three songs on her latest EP are on the CD. Newer versions of demo songs also make their appearances. All in all, it's fantastic. I'm already putting it on my list of favorite CDs.

Love Song is great, but I feel like I've listened to it so many times that I need something new. It's probably the song that you should listen to if you're first discovering this artist.

Vegas, a song about moving to realizing one's dreams, is as smooth as ever. You can find a video of a live performance of this song on her website. I can't decide which version I like better.

One Sweet Love is... sweet. It's my favorite on the album. You have a bit more guitar strumming in this one than her piano pieces. This is the song that displays her singer/songwriter talents and the range in her voice.

The next song is a bit darker. I listen to Come Round Soon, picturing the performer in a smoky jazz bar. Her opening and closing lyrics to that song say it all: "I could use another cigarette."

And unless you grew up in a land without Disney Classics, Fairytale is just a fun song about finding real life love, not the stuff in the movies. "I don't care for your fairytales/ You're so worried about the maiden/ Though you know she's only waiting on the next best thing" she sings. I like this CD's upbeat version better than the piano-based music you hear in her music video for this song. (The video is great, by the way. Bareilles dresses up like all the Disney princesses, seemingly annoyed. There's a link to the video on her website.)

I don't think I'll ever give any artist five stars, but this one is about as close as you can get. The title is Little Voice, but Sara Bareilles really has something here. Her voice is anything but little.

Standout Songs:
One Sweet Love
Between the Lines
Fairytale

For more information:
http://www.sarabmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sarabareilles