More of the Same From Caillat Isn’t a Bad Thing

colbie_caillat_breakthroughCombining predictable, yet soulful lyrics with a sound that is not quite pop, not quite folk and not quite modern rock, Colbie Caillat’s second album “Breakthrough” is a work that is simply irresistible to the ears.

It doesn’t matter that the 24-year-old is still maturing as a musician and a song writer and that process is evident- “Breakthrough” is just too charming and catchy to be ignored.

Featuring 17 tracks, “Breakthrough” is a love-ballad fest that will easily remind older music aficionados of classic tracks by James Taylor, Jim Croce, June Carter and Marc Cohen, showing that despite her age, this young woman has a wide range of tastes and influences. Younger listeners will think she’s one of a kind and over time, that may eventually be the case. However, as of right now, it’s obvious her music is geared more towards those looking to appreciate it, as it isn’t suited to be blasted in cars. Nevertheless, it’s far from being a guilty pleasure. Instead, it straddles the line between pop and soft rock in a way that many musicians today aren’t capable of.

Songs like “Begin Again” and “Fallin’ for You,” the album’s first single, are easily the two most appealing tracks to the teenage and younger crowd, as they are simply dripping with charisma, personality and feature lyrics that they can most identify with. As of a matter of fact, it’s that element, to be able to speak to her listeners with relate-able and real lyrics that make the album an enjoyable one. You’ll feel like Caillat is singing to you, inducing thoughts of loves both lost and won.

For that, the album is a spirited success.

It doesn’t matter that the lyrics aren’t as deep as someone like Sheryl Crow’s or Lisa Loeb’s. Caillat is a breath of fresh air in a tired pop-rock scene that needed someone to go out and simply sing. There’s no synthesizers. There’s no remixes. Instead, it’s a woman [and a good-looking one at that] singing about love and how she doesn’t know what to do with it.

That in itself is something that everyone can relate to with every ounce of their heart. Embodying the essence of a scared, yet accepting and life-loving person, there isn’t a depressing song on this album. If you find yourself smiling during one of her songs, don’t worry, it’s only natural when something is this wholesome and carefree.

Sarah McLaughlin fans should look elsewhere.

While some of the songs have a poppy feel to them,“Rainbow” has the type of folk-rock textures that would induce a head turn from Jack Johnson. “You got me” is another song that screams folk-rock and and manages to continue the happy-motif that possesses nearly every track on the album.

Continuing the smörgåsbord of musical textures present in the album, the title track feels like a Fleetwood Mac song [easily explained by the fact that her father produced both “Rumors” and “Tusk”] that shows her diversity and an ability to stray away from the uber-happy go lucky feel the rest of the album has.

The same thing goes for “Breakin’ at the Cracks,” a song that along with an acoustic guitar and some strong piano work is a much more mature offering that show what Caillat may be capable of in the future.

Nevertheless, the album is far from perfect as some of the songs sound a bit too similar. From the first few chords, it’s hard to tell some of the them apart. Lyrically, the album is strong, but at times, it feels as if Caillat is trying to say too much in each line, making solid lyrics sound jumbled. rather than sweet.

Growing pains for sure, but forgivable in the end. Especially when everything else is as strong as it is.

As far as sophomore albums go, “Breakthrough” may not be “Piano Man,” but it’s solid enough to ensure that her music is continually whistled for the next few years.

As of right now, she’s well on her way to becoming the industry’s good-looking acoustic and soft-rock sweetheart.

That by itself is plenty for someone [who by the looks of her lyrics] is still discovering herself as not only a musician, but as a person as well.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

1 Comment

  1. I really love colbie’s “breakthrough”. her music is great and as a young woman I see that she is going to have a unique approach in today’s music industry. As she continues to discover herself as a person she can have an impact on many !!! Go colbie !

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