Colbie Caillat – Coco

A couple months ago a local radio station started playing a charming little song called Bubbly. Perhaps it lacks that last bit of gravitas – or any gravitas at all – but it’s so, well, cute. The singer of said tune, the announcers would say after playing the song, is one Colbie Caillat. She’s cute, too. Who is she? Well, she’s a newcomer to the recorded music world. Sort of. She’s the daughter of industry veteran Ken Caillat, who helped produce various Fleetwood Mac discs, among other things. While paternal influence no doubt helped her land a record deal with a small subsidiary of the gargantuan UMG, she apparently got off the ground on MySpace, with Bubbly getting plenty of exposure there. (I write “apparently” since I can count on one hand how many minutes I’ve spent perusing MySpace.)

Now, I devote 90% or more of my listening time to classical music, so obviously I have different musical interests than many potential purchasers of this disc, but every once in a while I like to pick up something more now. I picked up Leslie Feist’s junior effort The Reminder a short while back and was and remain quite pleased. So perhaps pop lightning would strike twice in one year.

While Ms Caillat’s disc is not as compelling or as diverse as Ms Feist’s, there are some nice things on the disc. Ms Caillat is quite young, so it should come as no surprise that many of her songs focus on love and relationships. Bubbly is all about how her boyfriend in the song makes her feel all special, whether she considers her nose or her toes. It’s on the laid-back, light side of the musical spectrum, and that’s quite alright. Perhaps one weakness here is that pretty much all of her songs occupy the same part of the musical spectrum. There are some spunkier works – Feelings Show and Tied Down, for instance – and at least one song, Battle, hints at (or attempts to hint at) something deeper. It’s even got strings! Mostly though, the disc and the songs are about a melodically good time driven by mostly acoustic instruments. Electric guitars and B3s and synths make occasional and interesting supporting appearances. The sonic meat of the disc is Ms Caillat’s attractive if not great voice, which is very much up front and center, as well as ubiquitous acoustic guitars. In some ways one can think of her as a female Jack Johnson, with hints of John Mayer thrown in. The ukulele at the opening of Tied Down only reinforces that feeling. There is a certain sameness, a limited range to the music, but for what it is, it’s pretty good. I’m sure I’ll play it a few more times at least.

Perhaps not too surprisingly, the disc is very well produced. The sound is compressed enough for radio and displays an undeniably slick overall sound, with everything there to support the voice. Will Colbie Caillat become a manufactured superstar? Only time and record sales and merchandising will tell.


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