Bareilles’ major-label debut was Little Voice, which included “Bottle It Up,” “Gravity” and the major hit, “Love Song.” The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number 45, selling about 16,000 copies in its first week.
Bareilles’ sophomore album , Kaleidoscope Heart, has released one single, “King of Anything:” a mandolin armed kiss off. It has the potential to be another “Love Song” and blow the competition out of the water. Her opening track, “Kaleidoscope Heart” is a thirty second flicker of complete perfection. She sings all four parts and harmonizes with herself, A Cappella.
While Bareilles was writing Kaleidoscope Heart, which came out on Sept. 7, she experienced a case of writer’s block. The block was promptly cleared up with the writing of “Uncharted,” which has the lyric “Kaleidoscope heart;” the great imagery that became her title.
“Uncharted” became Bareilles’ focal point of the album with her other songs being bigger, bolder, and peppier as compared to the songs on “Little Voice.” “Uncharted” has meaningful lyrics including “Jumpstart my kaleidoscope heart, love to watch the colors fade, they may not make sense but they sure as hell made me.”
Bareilles has joined the green trend by selling a cardboard album, not hard plastic. The album is sold at Target with three additional songs, “Send Me the Moon,” “Gonna Get over You,” and “King of Anything String Version.”
Other stand out songs include “Gonna Get Over You”, an upbeat doo-wop pop song. Also, “Basket Case” has great lyrics: “Oh, send your armies in of robbers and thieves, to steal the state I’m in I don’t want it anymore. You’re begging for the truth, so I’m saying it to you, I’ve been saving your place, and what good does it do? Now I’m just a basket case.”
A singer compared to Fiona Apple, a pianist critiqued against Norah Jones, and with the looks of Vanessa Carlton; the best of the best, and record proves it. All in all, this is an album to please any fan of the 88’s or a fan of laid back coffee-house music.
I totally agree! Her lyrics are really fantastic and I love the music.