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RATING:  
SINGAPORE : When singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat made her debut with her album “Coco” that featured the smash single “Bubbly” in 2007, her raspy singing voice combined with blend of pop-folk music inevitably brought about comparisons to fellow musician and surfer, Jack Johnson.
Her laidback music style continues in her follow-up “Breakthrough” with Mick Caillat (noted Fleetwood Mac co-producer) once again doing double duties as doting Dad and providing production work on most of the album.
If Caillat’s sophomore effort sounds more polished than her first, it’s probably because this album has pulled out all the stops in the form of music producers and song writers that include “American Idol” judge, Kara DioGuardi and Rick Nowels who previously worked with Celine Dion and Jewel.
The result is a fuller sounding record with cellos and horn instruments while still bearing the acoustic sound that introduced the 24-year-old to the world.
Featuring an additional five bonus songs on the 18-track Deluxe Edition (a whopper by today’s standards), the first single "Fallin' For You" has led the album right atop the Billboard 200 album charts, giving the Jennifer Aniston look alike her first No.1 album.
Caillat mentioned in the album liner’s notes that she wanted to make music where people could “listen to while driving on a long road trip, laying out at the beach and songs where people could fall love to”.
True enough, “Breakthrough” does just that and more. Soon, images of walking barefoot along a warm sandy beach with your sweetheart framed by the backdrop of a sunset and sounds of waves crashing take over but then again, I digress.
Caillat’s sunny disposition shines through especially in tracks like “You Got Me” and “Rainbow”, which perhaps, may be just too cheery and saccharine for some.
Slower tracks such as “I Never Told You”, which could have been a country song, sticks with its tender arrangement and heartfelt lyrics that will resonate with those who are lovesick, while “Fearless” veers toward adult contemporary territory with its big ballad and piano arrangement.
Other highlights include “Out Of My Mind,” with its Burt Bacharach vibe and the duets featuring her male co-singers. “Lucky” with Jason Mraz, which appeared on his “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things” album, is included here and there’s also “Droplets” featuring Jason Reeves. Hopefully this bittersweet song about heartbreak will get more attention than the former overplayed duet.
It is hard to imagine that not too long ago, Caillat was a MySpace sensation whose popularity grew after she posted her initial recordings online on the social networking site.
With her sweet, guitar playing chick image, Caillat is hard not to like. Despite the slight overdose of puppy love songs on this album, “Breakthrough” shines like a ray of light and offers a good dose of sunshine to anyone in need of it.
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