Blogocentric Formulations

Eden

"The Soundtrack of Your Life"  | DAY 3

"Eden" by Sara Bareilles

This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I completely missed the release of Sara Bareilles' 2013 album, The Blessed Unrest. I was definitely aware of her hit single "Brave," but I guess I just assumed it was for a soundtrack of some kind or an EP release or something. And this is coming from someone for whom Bareilles' 2010 album Kaleidoscope Heart is an absolute favorite; it's one of the few albums that I can honestly say I love just about every song on it.

And yet, somehow, I was at a Sara Bareilles concert at the Hollywood Bowl late last year for her Amidst the Chaos tour and I listened to her perform a set of songs from both her collection of songs for the Waitress musical on Broadway (to be fair, I did know about that one, and almost picked the sensational "You Matter to Me" for this entry) and this album... and I didn't recognize any of the songs from this album except "Brave." She didn't even actually play this particular song at the concert, but I found it after I got home and went, "OMG she has a whole other album I've never heard!"

This is the song of hers I've been listening to on repeat the most since the concert a few months ago, and that includes "King of Anything" and "Uncharted," which are my usual go-to Bareilles songs. I'm not sure "Eden" will have the staying power of the other two (each of which has been listened to hundreds upon hundreds of times), but it's slowly climbing up the ranks of my leaderboard of all-time listens. Bareilles is a remarkable songwriter, a talented musician, and an entertaining performer. My wife and I had a blast at the concert, and I'm glad it prompted me to spend a little time delving into her back catalog where I was able to discover most of an album I didn't even know existed before 2019 (despite it being released six years ago ).