One of the best albums of the year was released in October and no one noticed. Vanessa Carlton’s third album, Heroes and Thieves, barely got any press, and crept onto the Billboard charts almost silently.

This is truly a shame. Since her heyday in 2002 with Be Not Nobody and its hit single “A Thousand Miles,” Vanessa Carlton hasn’t changed much. Her second album, Harmonium, and her latest don’t include anything experimental. All three sound pretty similar, actually.

The funny thing is how refreshing this is. Carlton has stayed consistent despite falling sales and popularity. She never sold out like her counterparts Alicia Keys and Nelly Furtado, who have fallen to pop’s siren drum machine.

Carlton chose to stay at the keyboard — which she plays exquisitely — instead of bringing in choreographers, adding a few plunks of the keys for fun, and dancing through the rest of the song. She hasn’t become as sophisticated as Norah Jones, but she hasn’t gone back to bubble gum, for which we should all be grateful.

In Heroes and Thieves, Carlton’s songwriting is as strong as ever, and the piano almost becomes a glorious second voice that boosts Carlton’s lead to new heights. The simplicity is a positive change to the sensory overload style that has become ordinary practice.

The only time her vocals fall a bit is on “This Time,” when her discordant vocals would fit better on a Tori Amos record.
One would have thought the passing years would have brought some bitterness to Vanessa Carlton, but if they have she doesn’t show it. She maintains the same not-so-much-sunny-but-not-dark tone as in her last albums.  

Carlton’s move to Universal Records brought a new production style for Heroes and Thieves. At times the record takes on a poppy, Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound feel that unfortunately takes away the rock of her past albums.

The best tracks are the most simple. “The One” and the ephemeral “More Than This” make one realize how much really good orchestral arrangements are missed in music.

While Harmonium remains her best album, Heroes and Thieves is certainly a welcome addition to Carlton’s impressive collection.

Carlton is definitely one of the most underrated artists out today. She has shown loyalty to her instrument, to her sound and to the original fans that loved her for her talent from the start. As she says in “My Best,” “Upon my shoulder you can rest/‘cause I’ll always give you my best.”