December, 2008/January, 2009

Publication title: More Magazine, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Unknown

Worth The Wait

Sarah McLachlan’s loyal fans have learned to be patient – it’s been five years since her last studio album, Afterglow. The Vancouver-based singer threw her admirers a bone with October’s release of Closer, a greatest hits collection with two original tracks. But an entire CD of new material is at least a year away, for which McLachlan makes no apologies. “I believe in quality over quantity,” she says. “I’m also aware if I wait six or seven years, I might lose a few fans, and I guess that’s a price I’m willing to pay.” McLachlan doesn’t put pressure on herself as she did in her twenties, when she would sequester herself for months at a time to compel herself to write. “That’s one of the things I have learned to let go of, that anxiety and neurosis about trying to force things out before they’re ready.”

She is equally at ease with turning 40 last January. “I think turning 30 was actually a bigger deal for me. At the time, I remember feeling very pleased because I felt like I might get taken more seriously, which is a bit silly,” she says. “I’m perfectly content with turning 40. I’ve had an amazing run so far, and I feel great – I’m in the best shape of my life.” The two main reasons McLachlan isn’t pushing herself professionally these days are daughters India, 6, and Taja, 18 months. “That’s certainly slowed things down for me, more than anything else,” she says. “They are the biggest and most beautiful distractions in my life.”

She is also coming to terms with her separation from Ashwin Sood, her drummer and husband of 11 years. Although McLachlan dances around the subject, it’s obvious the two new tracks on Closer are about the spilt. “Within every song, there is a pretty large autobiographical element,” she says. Although McLachlan admits there are “some scathing things” in her latest lyrics, she and Sood are “working toward having a better relationship and being better friends. We have kids together, so certainly we are going to remain on good terms. I want him in their lives, and he wants to be in their lives.”

McLachlan’s life now revolves around pleasantly mundane tasks like ferrying India to and from school, catching up on email during Taja’s naps, and trying to squeeze in yoga and time at the piano “before I pass out around nine o’clock – it’s very glamorous.” It’s a long way from her three high-profile years with Lilith Fair, the all-female concert tour she founded in 1997 that provided a venue to more than 100 artists and raised $7 million for charity. Today she’s more focused on individual events such as a Feb.12 concert in Vancouver to mark the one-year countdown to the 2010 Olympics.

Despite the recent upheaval in her personal life, McLachlan insists she’s at peace with herself. “I feel good about where I’m at.”