Summer, 2004

Publication title: Herizons, vol. 18, Iss. 1, pg. 42
Place: Winnipeg
Writer: Unknown

Afterglow: Sarah McLachlan

There is no doubt that Afterglow will add substantially to Sarah McLachlan’s worldwide sales of 22 million recordings. Her fans are a loyal lot who have waited with baited breath for six years for her to release a new studio album.

McLachlan has one of the most consistently excellent voices in pop music. When that voice is applied to great material it can actually raise goose bumps. Don’t believe me? Get a hold of the Freedom Sessions and see what she does with Tom Waits’ “Ol’ 55.”

Her piano-driven compositions on Afterglow are strong and clean, with just enough hooks to make them memorable and few enough surprises to keep them from being jarring. Writing equally mature lyrics, however, continues to elude this accomplished musician.

Stripped of its compelling melody, a typical Sarah McLachlan song consists of little more than adequate high school poetry. For example, from the single “Fallen”: “I messed up/ Better I should know/ So don’t come round here and/ Tell me I told you so.”

Since she burst on to the scene with 1988’s classically-inspired hit “Vox” (Latin for “voice”), McLachlan has released nine albums, produced four years of Lilith Fair, endured high profile lawsuits, gotten married, had a baby and lost her mother. Clearly, she’s evolved, so why haven’t her lyrics? It’s this artistic stasis that ultimately makes Afterglow just another pleasant album that could have been so much more.