Colbie Caillat
Breakthrough
(Universal Republic)
The daughter of the co-producer of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Tusk has had a meteoric rise, first with her dazzling debut Coco in 2007 and then with her smash hit duet with Jason Mraz in 2008 on “Lucky.” The winning streak continues on her sophomore outing. Sunny West Coast pop is the setting again for Caillat’s likeable voice. Considering that the deluxe edition contains 17 songs, Caillat, who co-wrote every one of them, displays surprising depth as a songwriter.
Brandi Carlile
Give Up The Ghost
(Columbia)
Carlile’s third album reflects her growing stature in the music world, as evidenced by the production by Rick Rubin, a collaboration on “Caroline” with Elton John and such guests as Red Hot Chili Pepper’s drummer Chad Smith, Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s keyboardist Benmont Tench and Amy Ray of Indigo Girls. Carlile continues to add enough grit and muscle to her raspy vocals, sound and songs to make this album a true rock singer-songwriter home run.
Charlie Mars
Like A Bird, Like A Plane
(Rockingham)
Southern-based Mars has been around for well over ten years and has a handful of albums to his credit. Despite the success of “Listen to the Darkside,” a catchy ode to getting high and listening to Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon, Mars actually demonstrates a hard-fought songwriting depth on this, his breakthrough album.
Bob Schneider
Lovely Creatures
(Kirtland)
Schneider is another artist who has been around for some time, hails from the South and whose latest album is his major breakthrough, in this case primarily thanks to the unforgettable “40 Dogs” (Like Romeo and Juliet). At times vocally recalling Bruce Hornsby, Schneider’s music is more varied and he clearly has a keen sense of humor. It’s amazing how an artist can make so many albums and then all of a sudden make an album that changes his career forever.
Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons
Death Won’t Send A Letter
(Black Seal)
Chisel’s official debut is a smash, right out of the box. While there are some Dylan-esque echoes in his sound and songwriting style, this is an artist whose command of his original songs and the sound he is getting on this record promises even better things to come in the future.