Sara Bareilles
Little Voice (Epic)
Brooklyn’s art-pop diva Ariana and the Rose told us about her love for a Sara Bareilles gem.
Ariana and the Rose: The artistry of Sara Bareilles has had a profound effect on me as a fan and as a musician. Little Voice was my introduction to Sara’s music and it inspired me to write songs. Her music blended lyricism and instrumentation in ways that felt like they spoke directly to my soul. “Love Song” felt like nothing I was hearing on the radio at the time. The organic instrumentation, bordering on theater but never feeling too earnest, firmly feeling like pop music. A sort of “f you” attitude wrapped in piano chords and an ear-worm melody. I thought “how can I do that?”
The piano playing on songs like Between the Lines, made me feel like I was in the room with her. It was the first time I felt music having dichotomy as I was listening to it, grand but simple, intimate but universal. It felt like I was reading and listening her diary. She wasn’t trying to be cool, she was aiming to be honest. That sentiment has stuck with me as a person who creates and consumes music. What feels honest in an increasingly over-saturated and produced world? I come back to this album time and time again, often on a long drive or walk. It opened something in me almost 20 years ago and continues to be the standard for my own artistry. It’s like coming home to a friend and to myself.
Ariana and the Rose's new album The Breakup Variety Hour is out from October 10.
Photo credit: Taylor Goulding
