November 02, 2003

Publication title: NY Daily News, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Ray Rogers

Between night & day

Sarah McLachlan returns with a new CD after some life-changing experiences.

“People are going to think I’ve gone through some really tough times with my husband,” says singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan with a laugh. “A lot of these songs are about the demise of a relationship and someone being mistreated.”

McLachlan is reflecting on the content of her new album, “Afterglow,” her first release in six years. It’s not about her marriage, though.

“My husband [drummer Ashwin Sood] is absolutely fabulous,” she hastily adds.

McLachlan says she wrote the record’s songs as an observer of other people’s relationships, but also drew from her past.

However, the 35-year-old Canadian has gone through some life-altering events during her absence from the limelight.

After the last of the three hugely successful all-women Lilith Fair summer tours, which she conceived and led, McLachlan headed home to Vancouver for some much-needed rest. Shortly afterward, her mother died of cancer. Five months later, McLachlan gave birth to her daughter, India, her firstborn, who is now 18 months old.

McLachlan says the title of “Afterglow” describes her state of mind these past few years rather than what’s on the album.

“It seemed right, although I didn’t know how to justify it in terms of the music or lyrics,” she says. “If you look [afterglow] up in the dictionary, it says it’s the light that exists once the sun is gone. The image you first conjure up is this really beautiful warm, golden glow, but if you turn the rock over – which I love to do – underneath that, it’s a very dangerous time to drive. Shadows appear and everything gets a little murky and uncertain for a while before it actually gets dark.”

That said, the “warm, golden” afterglow idea suits the 10 tracks on the record. McLachlan’s comforting gossamer voice and the soft, gauzy tones of the music add up to yet another soundtrack for an aromatherapy massage.

“I think I moved forward as an artist, but I’m not reinventing the wheel here,” she admits.

Beneath the soothing sounds, she sings about stifling relationships, emotional crises and lives in flux or in peril.

“I like the idea of transition,” she says, “and in some ways these songs are about moving forward or about coming to the edge of something and realizing that there’s no way but up – or down. Your choice.”

CAN’T COMPETE

The music world has undergone a massive transition since McLachlan’s 1994 breakthrough with “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy” and 1997’s 8-million-selling follow-up, “Surfacing.” Today, McLachlan and her Lilith Fair colleagues can’t compete with stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera for radio play, but McLachlan says she has no plans to revive Lilith Fair any time soon.

“The thought of undertaking it again is terrifying,” she says.

But she almost can’t help herself. “I hope someone will – and perhaps it’ll be me,” she says. “I don’t think it would be all women. There are incredibly gifted male artists who don’t get recognized either. Rufus Wainwright doesn’t sell any records and he’s just so talented. And I adore Ron Sexsmith.”

So a seed is planted. McLachlan, though, is not too bothered by the domination of the ex-Mouseketeers and their ilk.

“I believe music is cyclical,” she says. “I also believe there’s a place for everybody, in my naive, hippie fantasy world that I live in. Music is so subjective and there’s a lot of people that love all different kinds. Hell, I’m guilty of loving some ‘N Sync songs, embarrassingly enough. And that Justin [Timberlake] is hot!”