Afterglow

For me, I hear Afterglow and what I find is a collection of beautifully crafted songs, as we have come to expect from Sarah. Which brings to mind another problem: the music climate has changed so much that what is considered "good" music now is anything that's really loud ie rock, recycled crap ie rap and karaoke singers seems to be the height of music culture right now. Any female worth much in the industry has to at least take her clothes off in a video and show some skin in order to get attention. Anything else that doesn't fit into these narrowly-focused "rock-n-roll" ideals fall short in people's eyes.

Sarah has chosen to stay true to herself and made a record that is meaningful and emotionally-satisfying. It is quiet and low-key but it has been said that the most powerful moments can be found in silences and quietness is the loudest roar. She has chosen to disregard all music trends and fads and creates music that is relevant enough in current times yet sound timeless in its appeal. Contrary to what some reviewers have posted here, all the songs are very much varied in sound and not "samey" at all.

Open you ears to Fallen and hear the open regret, the fatalistic hopeless feeling that a mistake made can never be corrected brings. Read the lyrics in World on Fire and tell me that that is not one of the best songs ever written about the post 911 world? People say she doesn't rock, well please hear Stupid! Not only does she rock out, she actually sounds mightily pissed.

In Drifting, she gathers you up into the skies into drifting clouds and you understand why there it's so irresistable to escape from life. Then you're brought down to earth again in Trainwreck where Sarah revels in being an impending disaster and you're taken by her vulnerability. Push is Sarah's love poem to her husband and it's a suitably direct and heartfelt declaration of love.

Answer...what can one say about Answer? The most emotionally wrecking song on the album. If there is anyone that you ever truly love and need, you'll relate to this song. The lyrics are simple yet say so much. In Time, Sarah gives us a dark glimpse into a broken relationship that involves her ruminating about "shadows on the walls" keeping her company and being held as a token. The Celtic-like drumming bores into your ears as if Father Time is urgently telling you that it's best to let go of things that ails you.

Perfect Girl is the perfect ode to anyone who has yet to find himself or herself. Listen to her sing "And everything will come around in time" in a high note, as if singing in a high note could bring down the heavens and the Perfect Girl would indeed believe everything will indeed be alright for her. Imagine yourself in a bar or at home and you had too much to drink. You listen to Dirty Little Secret and you're reminded of why you got into that drunken state....much self-loathing and plenty of regret. The pleasantness of the music is deceiving as it hides a broken soul who, as the lyrics go, denied himself a capacity to love. The song ends in resigned acceptance of his lot.

In a way, this resigned acceptance could be similarly ascribed to Sarah. She's no longer the person she was. She's changed by motherhood and by the death of her mother. No one can expect her to make another Fumbling Towards Ecstacy. She's not a music machine who cranks out records every two years or so.

Afterglow is just one part of her journey. A journey which I hope, will take her to greater heights one day and inspire her to write a record that transcends everything she or anyone else has ever done. For me, I'll take Afterglow for what it is: as a slice of Sarah's artistic journey and enjoy it while I can.

Overall, the sound record to me seems to be a combination of her last three albums proper; there are the requisite Surfacing era piano-based ballads in "Answer," and "Dirty Little Secret," the Solace era melodies in "Drifting,' and the verses of 'Stupid', the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy textures and lyrical depth in "World on Fire," (mostly written by her producer Pierre Marchand) "Stupid," and the fantastic "Dirty Little Secret."

I like 9 out of the 10 songs, which, in my books, is no small feat for any artist to accomplish. "Drifing," is the only song that I'm indifferent about, but that might change after time.
Some highlights upon first listen:

"Fallen," the lead single, is about the irrevocable mistakes we make in our lives that force us to wallow within, and then move on. In terms of sound, it's reminiscent of "Building A Mystery," from her last album, Surfacing.

"World on Fire," is a beautiful song about ugliness. Being the only song written after her mother's passing and her daughter's birth, its subject matter is the reconciliation of innocence with chaos in our post 9/11 world. Sarah's voice soars, and the instrumentation is lush, harkening back to Fumbling Towards Ecstasy's layered textures.

"Stupid" is as close to a driving, straight-ahead rock song on the album as Sarah gets, and it is a great payoff. A killer chorus is bookended by Solace-style, melodic verses about being smitten by someone that you know is bad for you. Sarah's voice is raw and close to the edge; it would be amazing to see her just cut loose and let her powerful voice go completely, as it did in her cover of XTC's "Dear God." Another thing to note is that he strings and orchestration for "Stupid" are a brilliant touch.

"Train Wreck" is notable because it offers, for a Sarah McLachlan song, unusual instrumentation. There are ambient electronic sounds and beats, and hopefully this is an avenue she and her producer will further explore on her next album, when she tackles the weighty dramas that have consumed her life in the past few years.

"Answer" is, well, the Answer to "Angel." It's a low-key, very chill track that epitomizes what Sarah McLachlan's recent sound has transformed into -- an extremely soothing, maternal sound that comforts us and slows us down in our sometimes too fast-paced world. Centred around the piano, Sarah's voice is at the forefront, taking all troubles to "wash this from my mind."

"Dirty Little Secret" is a very personal song, and could well be this album's "Do What You Have To Do.' It has the storytelling quality of her work on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Confessional lyrics are glazed with a decadent wine sauce; the result is nothing short of epic, as she journeys through a messy relationship from the past.

It's hard to argue that Sarah is an artist that speaks to her audience, and that she is an artist who is getting more and more precise with her composing and deliberate in her writing. She conjures complex, emotional nuance in unpretentious, natural lyrics that can catch a listener offguard in a moment of vulnerability or reflection. This is an album that will surprise you on one of those nights when you're listening with headphones after one too many drinks.

In a bleak musical landscape littered with gangster rappers one-upping each other about guns, cash, and hos, cookie-cutter hip-hop beats and hooks, and manufactured pop tarts that are known best by their first names, Sarah's voice blasts across the skyline like a radiant shaft of light. Sarah McLachlan is so endearingly unphased by trends; instead, she tip-toes gently through the geography of the heart.