Blonde, Bubbly, and beautiful: Colbie Caillat's Coco
Written: Oct 13 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wonderfully-crafted acoustic-pop. The Little Things, Midnight Bottle, Battle
Cons: Tied Down is annoying. A tad bit of same-ness.
The Bottom Line: Caillat deserves all the success she's getting, because this disc is good. Well worth the purchase.
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| shimatani87's Full Review: Coco: Summer Sessions [Digipak] by Colbie Caillat |
At first glance, one might mistake Colbie Caillat for just another pretty, manufactured pop star; after all, with her luminous blonde hair, sensible fashion, and pretty face that is scarily reminiscent of Jennifer Aniston, she could easily be another contender for the next Britney or Christina.
That assumption, however, would be quickly (and thankfully?) once one popped Caillat's debut disc, Coco, into the player. Rather than shiny, glittery dance-pop, Caillat's debut greets listeners with a variety of self-penned acoustic pop that would make Lisa Loeb jealous.
Unlike Loeb, however, Caillat isn't afraid to embrace the pop side of her material, and the upbeat tunes here are playful, gently sensual, and incredibly infectious, made all the better due to their restrained, unplugged-style instrumentation. Romance runs rampant, whether it's the shy, schoolgirl ruminations of Top 10 single Bubbly ("Every time I see your bubbly face / I get the tinglies in a silly place / They start in my toes / Make me crinkle my nose..."), the end of a once-desirable fling (The Little Things), or realizing a potential relationship when it pops up (Oxygen, Feelings Show, Tailor Made).
Of these, however, the best is one that finds Caillat not being doe-eyed about her love life. While I certainly don't condone the use of alcohol as a coping mechanism, Midnight Bottle so deliciously describes the process that I'm willing to forgive Caillat for it. A breezy, acoustic piece with a slight tropical edge (at least in the opening bars), the piece finds Caillat reminiscing about a relationship past -- both good and bad -- and realizing that the calmness and serenity provided by her bottled chemistry experiment won't last forever ("I think of you, and everything's all right -- if only for tonight"). Her vocal is laid-back and wonderful, infused with just the right amount of emotion to make her words truly believable.
The ballads here are certainly not without merit, too, although for the most part, they tend to be a bit less impressive than their upbeat counterparts. Realize is a simple acoustic number that again deals with (guess what?) romance, specifically the beginning of a relationship if the other party could see the benefits; the same is true of Magic, although it's a bit heavier in terms of instrumentation (with the addition of piano and a drum section). On both of these, Caillat's collaborator in lyric writing, Jason Reeves, guests on harmony vocals, and he acts as a nice contrast to Caillat's sun-dappled voice.
Album-ender Capri, another simple acoustic track, is a fairly nice, if a tad dull, way to end the album, speaking of the trials and joys of motherhood, but it seems unfinished and cuts off quickly at the end. That leaves the best of the ballads (and possibly the best piece here) to Battle, an atmospheric, mid-tempo piece -- made possible due to the resounding string section, piano, and drums that form the bulk of the instrumentation, alongside the acoustic guitar -- that finds Caillat confronting someone (an old/current flame, if my reading of the lyrics is apt) about his attitudes and actions toward her as of late. While some might find Caillat's comparison of the end to a battle, it's far more interesting than any of the other tepid "woe is me my relationship is ending D:" comparisons she could have made. As end of relationship songs go, this is probably one of the prettiest I've ever heard, and Caillat does a wonderful job of being both convincing and determined.
However, even with all the good here, there are a couple quibbles, and Tied Down is one of them. Another relationship-oriented track, the song, in an attempt at quirkiness, instead comes across as annoying, if only because of one element of its arrangement: the ukulele that's constantly plucked throughout the entirety of the song. Without that distraction, the song could've been a heck of a lot better. With it, I tend to find myself gravitating toward the skip button. Other minor qualms are that the ballads (at least the slower, more acoustic pieces) tend to run together if one isn't paying attention, but that's really minor.
In the end, Colbie Caillat's debut is a fascinating, refreshing disc from a talented young woman who's making a name for herself this year. I'd be happy to see this one up for a Grammy of some kind, because it's one of the best American-made albums I've heard this year. Easily five stars, and highly, highly recommended.
Colbie Caillat: "Coco"
[ CDA | Universal Republic | $10.99 | 2007.07.17 ]
01. Oxygen [ 3:51 ]
02. The Little Things [ 3:46 ]
03. One Fine Wire [ 3:37 ]
04. Bubbly [ 3:17 ]
05. Feelings Show [ 3:10 ]
06. Midnight Bottle [ 3:41 ]
07. Realize [ 4:05 ]
08. Battle [ 4:03 ]
09. Tailor Made [ 4:30 ]
10. Magic [ 3:25 ]
11. Tied Down [ 3:07 ]
12. Capri [ 3:04 ]
[ http://www.colbiecaillatmusic.com ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/colbiecaillat ]
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
shimatani87
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Member: Zach Jones
Location: Urbana, IL
Reviews written: 117
Trusted by: 17 members
About Me:
St. Louis-bound graduate student with a passion for pop.
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