Like most people born at a certain time, there are certain pop culture references and figures that we all remember.
Some may be remembered more fondly than others, but they are part of our landscape.
As someone born in 1979, one of the artists who played a large role in the soundtrack of my youth was Sarah McLachlan.
As she has entered her 30's and, now, 40's, she has had a tendency to release far fewer albums of new material.
(She made her debut in 1988 at the age of 20 with Touch, and before the age of 30, she also released Solace in 1991, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy in 1993, and Surfacing in 1997, the latter two largely cementing her reputation in the United States.
In her 30's, she only released one album of new material: Afterglow in 2003.
) One June 15th, after a seven-year wait, Sarah McLachlan released Laws of Illusion, her sixth studio album, excluding B-sides, remixes, and a 2008 greatest hits album.
Personal Writing Fans of Sarah McLachlan have come to expect long waits in between new material, as evidence by the four-year wait for Surfacing and the six-year wait for Afterglow.
However, this is accepted as part of a trade-off for more personal and honest songwriting.
In this instance, her fans will not be disappointed.
In between albums, Sarah McLachlan divorced her long-time drummer and husband of 11 years, Ashwin Sood, so it shouldn't be a surprise that most of the songs on Laws of Illusion deal with her divorce.
Because of this tendency, there is a rawness of emotion that only made brief appearances on Afterglow.
However, from the pain of it ending, to questions of why it ended, to holding out for a happily-ever-after, one can honestly say after listening to this album that she held nothing back.
Sound After putting more of a focus on guitar work in the 90's, both of her last two albums have seen a greater shift to the piano for musical accompaniment.
However, the sound still maintains its intensity and the longing that that are her signature.
In this age of AutoTune, it is nice to hear a voice of pure emotion that does not have the tinny sound that a lot of today's more processed vocals have.
While she is writing about something that I hope to never experience, I could feel the raw emotion on songs such as "Forgiveness," where she writes about trying to move forward from a very bad situation.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Sarah McLachlan album without songs that make the listener think that they are much more upbeat than they really are (For example, I have lost track of the number of times that I've hears people tell me that they thought that "Possession," a song about a stalker, was a love song; and that "I Love You," a song about distance, is a sweet love ballad.
) and "Love Come" is no exception.
Conclusion In this case, the cliche about great pain and great music turns out to be true.
The songs are truly amazing, and this album is one that was worth the wait.
I would recommend this album to anyone who is a Sarah McLachlan fan, or someone going through a really bad time who needs to know that there is someone out there who knows what he/she is going through.
It is horrible that this happened to her, but I hope that the songwriting experience was as therapeutic for her as the music was great.
Some may be remembered more fondly than others, but they are part of our landscape.
As someone born in 1979, one of the artists who played a large role in the soundtrack of my youth was Sarah McLachlan.
As she has entered her 30's and, now, 40's, she has had a tendency to release far fewer albums of new material.
(She made her debut in 1988 at the age of 20 with Touch, and before the age of 30, she also released Solace in 1991, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy in 1993, and Surfacing in 1997, the latter two largely cementing her reputation in the United States.
In her 30's, she only released one album of new material: Afterglow in 2003.
) One June 15th, after a seven-year wait, Sarah McLachlan released Laws of Illusion, her sixth studio album, excluding B-sides, remixes, and a 2008 greatest hits album.
Personal Writing Fans of Sarah McLachlan have come to expect long waits in between new material, as evidence by the four-year wait for Surfacing and the six-year wait for Afterglow.
However, this is accepted as part of a trade-off for more personal and honest songwriting.
In this instance, her fans will not be disappointed.
In between albums, Sarah McLachlan divorced her long-time drummer and husband of 11 years, Ashwin Sood, so it shouldn't be a surprise that most of the songs on Laws of Illusion deal with her divorce.
Because of this tendency, there is a rawness of emotion that only made brief appearances on Afterglow.
However, from the pain of it ending, to questions of why it ended, to holding out for a happily-ever-after, one can honestly say after listening to this album that she held nothing back.
Sound After putting more of a focus on guitar work in the 90's, both of her last two albums have seen a greater shift to the piano for musical accompaniment.
However, the sound still maintains its intensity and the longing that that are her signature.
In this age of AutoTune, it is nice to hear a voice of pure emotion that does not have the tinny sound that a lot of today's more processed vocals have.
While she is writing about something that I hope to never experience, I could feel the raw emotion on songs such as "Forgiveness," where she writes about trying to move forward from a very bad situation.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Sarah McLachlan album without songs that make the listener think that they are much more upbeat than they really are (For example, I have lost track of the number of times that I've hears people tell me that they thought that "Possession," a song about a stalker, was a love song; and that "I Love You," a song about distance, is a sweet love ballad.
) and "Love Come" is no exception.
Conclusion In this case, the cliche about great pain and great music turns out to be true.
The songs are truly amazing, and this album is one that was worth the wait.
I would recommend this album to anyone who is a Sarah McLachlan fan, or someone going through a really bad time who needs to know that there is someone out there who knows what he/she is going through.
It is horrible that this happened to her, but I hope that the songwriting experience was as therapeutic for her as the music was great.