Afterglow
Artist: Sarah McLachlan
Producer: Pierre Marchand
Label: Nettwerk
My Thoughts
Its been a while. Her last original compilation was 1997's Surfacing. In the meantime, she released the flawless, live, Mirrorball in 1999, and the hit or miss Remixed in 2001. I became a fan of her with "Possession" and the Fumbling Towards Ectasy album from 1993, and to this day, "Possession" is my favorite song of all time. So, for me, six years is a long time for new stuff from one of my favorite performers.
And she doesn't dissapoint.
The first three tracks, "Fallen", "World on Fire", and "Stupid" are so old school Sarah. Sublime and perfect. The rest of the album is a journey into new territory. The messages have changed from love gone wrong to the pressures of motherhood. It has some negative messages, but evolves into a pretty upbeat disc. Its very mellow, but most of her stuff is.
Of all the returning artists this year, I was looking the most forward to this album. She teased us last year when she covered "Blackbird" for the I Am Sam soundtrack, and since then, I've been salivating for a full-length album. I am impressed with this album, and it makes me forget how dissapointing Dido's sophmore disc was last month. After being let down by that, I was wary of Sarah's fifth studio album. But, she has made me a fan all over again. So, I'm giving it a 4 of 5. It would get a 5, but there aren't any super-strong singles like "Possession" or "Building A Mystery". One fo those, and the album would be flawless.
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