Surfacing

About

In hindsight, that Sarah McLachlan wrote and released 1997’s <i>Surfacing</i> at all was nothing short of miraculous. After a multiyear tour in support of her 1993 U.S. breakthrough <i>Fumbling Towards Ecstasy</i>, the Canadian singer/songwriter (and Lilith Fair founder) was physically and creatively spent. “I felt so dried up, I couldn’t imagine writing another song in my life,” she told <i>CMJ</i>. After some time away from music, however, a rejuvenated McLachlan found her muse, reunited with <i>Fumbling Towards Ecstasy</i> producer Pierre Marchand—and recorded a gorgeous, timeless pop album. Released as the first Lilith Fair was crisscrossing North America, <i>Surfacing</i> alternates between frosty piano ballads (“Do What You Have to Do”) and evocative folk-pop meditations (“Building a Mystery,” which won a GRAMMYⓇ Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). Marchand contributes luxurious production and a crystal-clear mix that brings out lush musical nuances: Rippling keyboards swirl through “Sweet Surrender,” while orchestral swells buoy “Full of Grace” and the instrumental “Last Dance” features shivering musical saw and upright bass. Yet <i>Surfacing</i> succeeds mostly because of McLachlan’s emotional vulnerability. There’s a world-weariness to her voice throughout that brings gravitas to the elegiac “Adia,” and the sparse, piano-driven “Angel”—a compassionate song she wrote after reading about musicians navigating drug problems—is both somber and comforting. (Legendary rapper DMC credited the latter song with steering him away from suicide.) <i>Surfacing</i> certainly became intertwined with Lilith Fair and the women-driven late-’90s musical movement, but the album resonated with a widespread mainstream audience because McLachlan was at the peak of her musical powers.

via Apple Music