Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles joins the ranks of such assured, precocious newcomers as Rachael Yamagata and Brandi Carlile. Bareilles has learned from Fiona Apple, but she stabilizes her sensitive/troubled alternative singer-songwriter template with a touch of soul and a dollop of Sarah McLachlan. Little Voice is full of solid songs that belong on the radio -- "Morningside," "Bottle It Up," "One Sweet Love," "Love On the Rocks" and (best of all) the hey-world-here-I-come career anthem "Vegas." Speaking of radios, who can resist the little transistor model that Bareilles is holding on the album cover?

It's tempting to simply applaud Bareilles' capable Fiona Apple-on-Prozac homage for what it
is: slightly edgy, stompy piano-based pop rock. That is, until she unfurls the earsplittingly
impressive climax note of the Maroon 5-esque "Come Round Soon." Whether banging away
at the driving "Love Song," turning slinky for "Bottle It Up" or getting contemplative on the
gently orchestrated "City," Bareilles' writing voice is uniquely her own.