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Colbie Caillat
www.colbiecaillatmusic. com

Colbie Caillat portrays the voice of modern Americana on her debut album Coco released by Universal Republic Records. Produced by Mikal Blue with executive producer, Ken Caillat who is also Colbie's father and an established record producer in his own right, puts Colbie's brightest qualities up front. Her words are wholesome with melodies that have a country-folk glisten draped in finger snapping tempos and thoughtful moods reminiscent of Tift Merritt and Brandi Carlile. It is the type of album you would want to listen when you are alone with your thoughts. The sing-along melodies have a happy sprint to them with breezy instrumentation and wistful sweeps. There is a bluesy-folk tint in Colbie's pitch that makes her voicing steely as well as laid back and mellifluous. The album has a fireside/bedroom-lit coziness that puts a smile on your face and a skip in your steps.

Colbie's roots show in her music. Born and raised in the beachfront community of Malibu, California, her songs pave a relaxing orbit around her soothing vocals making an emollient that feels like a warm summer breeze blowing across your skin. The music has an easy pop drift and country-folk charms which show confidence in her vocals as the gently-wreathed harmonies course through the mellow successions. Songs like "Oxygen" and "The Little Things" have a soothingly refined threading while "One Fine Wine" spikes the tempo a bit with a perky finger snapping sprint. "Bubbly" is the tune that has gotten Colbie the most attention with lyrics that express romantically blissful feelings as she sings, "I've been awake for a while now/ You make me feel like a child now/ 'Cause every time I see your bubbly face/ I get the tinglies in a silly place/ It starts in my toes/ Makes me crinkle my nose/ Wherever it goes/ I always know/ That you make me smile." The tune lightens your heart and puts an involuntary bounce in your steps.

The album is a collection of tunes that express the emotions of a young girl who is coming of age. The piano dewdrops on "Battle" have a languid phrasing along the coasting rhythms and engulfed with creamy acoustic tumbleweeds. The upbeat pulsing of "Feelings Show" is reflective of Alana Davis' folk-jazz intonations while the serene rocking chair motions of "Realize" are endowed with a Tift Merritt calmness. The bluesy aureoles of "Tailor Made" are fashioned with country-folk mists and the wistful folk dwellings of "Magic" compose soft brush strokes that soothe and appease. "Tied Down" straps a tangy Hawaiian undertone with island beats and a jazzy-pop step in the vocals. The dance-bop rhythms are covered in calypso hues which create a warm spree in the atmospheres. The acoustic country-folk ballad of "Capri" is nurturing like a lullaby and rocks the album to its closure.

Many opportunities have come Colbie Caillat's way without much hard work, but her album is too wholesome and good to pass up. The confidence she shows in being honest is refreshing. A lot of girls can identify with her songs in this way, and a lot of guys will no doubt be attracted to her soothing nature. There is not much diversity in her melodies, they mainly have an acoustic country/folk/Americana essence, but that said, there is a wholesomeness in her music that never gets tiring. She is a modern Emmy Lou Harris and her songs speak to a modern generation of girls who are coming into their own.

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