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Feb 7, 2011This is one mainstream marshmallow with an acidic coating worth a lick.
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On Kaleidoscope Heart, sometimes, as in the airless Breathe Again, all that earnest yearning can make you feel like you've been sentenced to life at Lilith Fair.
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The singer-songwriter's background in university show choirs serves her well here, as she finds strength in complex vocal arrangements and the sorts of dramatic set-ups that have reminded us, through Fox's popular television show, that the very act of raising our voices can be a hugely liberating act.
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Despite lushly detailed arrangements, Bareilles never pushes this distinctly commercial gift too hard, letting the songs flow easily and this gentleness is almost as appealing as those classically constructed melodies, tunes so softly insistent they could conceivably appear on adult contemporary charts anytime from 1971 to 2010.
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Sara Bareilles returns with more bouncy and intricate piano melodies on her sophomore album
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When Ms. Bareilles goes for more straightforward tugs on the heartstrings, she often sounds like Sarah McLachlan's gifted apprentice, complete with Ms. McLachlan's trademark of going breathy at the top of a phrase.
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Bareilles veers between fellow pianists Alicia Keys and Regina Spektor, avoiding either's extremes.
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Although Kaliedoscope Heart was probably intended to prove Bareilles' staying power, it only confirms suspicions that in some years, she'll be as remembered as Michelle Branch, or Tracy Bonham, still making music, but without any of the mass appeal they once enjoyed.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 25 out of 31
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Mixed: 2 out of 31
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Negative: 4 out of 31
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Sep 15, 2010
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Jul 7, 2021
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Dec 11, 2010