October 31, 2014

Publication title: Winnipeg Free Press, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Jen Zoratti

Dark time in McLachlan’s life helps songwriter find strength

Sarah McLachlan’s latest album, Shine On, was born out of one of the most difficult periods in her life. First, there were the divorces — one from her husband, drummer Ashwin Sood, and one from a record label. Then there was the death of her father in 2010.

But McLachlan, 46, isn’t the type to sit around feeling sorry for herself. She found herself at a crossroads and recognized the possibilities that were stretched out in front of her. Released in May, Shine On is a record about loss, yes, but it’s also about hope and survival. It’s about, to borrow a song title from Winnipeg band Novillero, the art of carrying on.

“My last record was a bummer,” McLachlan says over the phone, referring to 2010’s Laws of Illusion, which was written when the heartbreak from the dissolution of her marriage was still raw. “When I was writing these songs, they were coming from a place of strength I didn’t have on the last record. I was pretty rudderless.”

While Shine On lets the light in, McLachlan’s emotional bumps and bruises are still on full display, her lyrics more plainspoken than ever; Song for my Father may be her most direct yet. These songs were not particularly easy to write, she says. But then, they never are.

“It was like extracting blood from a stone, but that’s nothing new,” she says with a laugh. “Songwriting is a slow, sometimes painful process. It was difficult to coax these stories out, but I felt like I got to a place where I was editing myself less and I was revealing more. I allowed these stories to tell themselves and that wasn’t easy.”

Recording them, however, was a blast. Though the bulk of the new album was helmed by her longtime producer Pierre Marchand, with whom she’s worked since 1991, veteran Canadian producer Bob Rock — who has worked with everyone from Metallica to Michael Bublé — took over the board for a pair of rockers: Flesh and Blood and Love Beside Me.

“I wanted to coax that energy out on these songs, which is why I wanted to work with Bob. He reminded me how much I love to play the electric guitar,” she says.

McLachlan’s music has long been a companion for many people in times of sorrow — this is the woman who wrote Angel, a tear-jerker that’s been played at countless funerals, after all — so it’s not surprising her fans are connecting to Shine On in meaningful ways.

“A lot of my fans have grown up with me. We’re at the age now where people are getting divorced. They’re losing their parents. We’re all going through similar experiences,” she says. (The song In Your Shoes, an empowerment anthem inspired by Malala Yousafzai, as well as McLachlan’s own experiences as a teenager, speaks directly to the idea of finding comfort in music.)

As part of her Shine On tour, which rolls into the Centennial Concert Hall on Monday, McLachlan is inviting fans to share their stories of how they “shine on” for a chance to join her onstage (four fans are selected in each city). “I also do a 60-person meet and greet, so every night I get to hug 60 people. It’s pretty great,” she says.

If she sounds like she’s in a good place these days, it’s because she is. She’s able to take her daughters on tour with her — “I’m very lucky I’m able to do that,” she acknowledges. “That’s one of the great luxuries”– and can be found reading them bedtime stories shortly after she gets offstage every night.

She’s found love again, too, with former NHL star Geoff Courtnall. Shine On is dedicated to her girls, her late father and her new partner.

“I’m very happy,” she says. “I feel so thankful for everything, every day. I’ve got a great life.”