Sara Bareilles

Kaleidoscope Heart Sony ***

Kaleidoscope Heart Sony ***

Receiving a reissue following Sara Bareilles's recent Grammy nomination for King of Anything, Kaleidoscope Heartsees the Eureka, California singer- songwriter tread a path between winsome pop fodder and right -side-of-odd performer. If you wanted to, you could splice her with Sarah McLachlan and Fiona Apple and decide that, more or less, it's better to sound like someone vaguely interesting who you know rather than someone you've never heard before who happens to be intensely dull. Which is to say that Bareilles just about cuts the mustard with a collection of tunes that are oh-so-radio- fodder familiar, yet lack the accompanying soporific content. Songs such as the title track, King of Anything, Gonna Get Over Youand Basket Casehighlight (within commercial parameters) an individual voice that puts forward points honestly and with integrity.

See sarabmusic.com

Download tracks: Gonna Get Over You, Basket Case, Breathe Again

Tony Clayton-Lea

Tony Clayton-Lea

Tony Clayton-Lea is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in popular culture