McLachlan's Surfacing: No Mystery Why I'm Not a Fan
Aug 30 '04
Pros Four outstanding, classic songs...
Cons A whole much of forgettable filler...
The Bottom Line Surfacing is an important album if only for four songs. Otherwise, I'm painfully underwhelmed by McLachlan's fourth studio album.
Full Review
There is no doubt in my mind that Sarah McLachlan’s crowing achievement to date has been 1993’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. The gorgeous, invigorating, emotional, and relaxing style of her music came as a great shock to me—a girl weaned on hair metal followed by grunge. Yet there was something special and timeless about the Canadian songstress; something that has indeed stood the test of time.
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was McLachlan’s third album and the moment at which her career really took a turn for the better. The rest is, of course, written in the annals of history. All of her albums hit the Billboard lists upon release and her music often receives critical praise (whether or not is actually deserved). McLachlan has also been awarded three Grammys during her career for songs Building a Mystery, Last Dance and most recently in 1999 for the heartbreaking I Will Remember You.
Despite the fact that two of these songs came from the 1997 album Surfacing, I can’t say that I really enjoy the disc as much as my aforementioned favorite. It is less consistent and less honest—still good of course, but not up on level with Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. I think in part my lack of adoration for McLachlan’s effort is tied to the fact that she didn’t grow as an artist in the four years between the two discussed CDs. The music isn’t nearly as profound the second time around. Another major issue I have with this album was well out of the control of McLachlan. It was incredibly over-hyped and over-played. This shouldn’t have an affect on how a listener feels about something, but as we all know it does.
Surfacing absolutely reeks of media hype. On one level, some of the songs are excellent and in perfect sync with what I loved about McLachlan’s previous work. On the other hand, some of the songs are overly and falsely emotional and lackluster. This is an album that contradicts itself and in the end is just a bit jumbled and too unfocused despite a few undeniably classic songs. Remember—a few great songs never make an album great. To add to the trouble, Surfacing contains but ten songs, and when an album is that short I’ve come to expect a larger concentration of good material. Too bad she doesn’t deliver fully on any of her promises.
What promises she did deliver on are fantastic. She promised heartfelt and evocative songs and listeners were rewarded with Building a Mystery, Aida, and Angel. These three songs are all unquestionably beautiful. Building a Mystery is a languid, rich, and emotional song—possibly the best of the entire album. But from that moment on, McLachlan’s Surfacing is a hit and miss affair. I Love You wanders without purpose and with a significant lack of feeling. It is painfully boring. Sweet Surrender picks the pace up a bit, but it in the end is repetitive and equally unemotional as the previously mentioned song. It doesn’t even mesh well with the album and leaves me wondering why it was chosen as a single at all.
Aida is also one of my favorites—sweeping, honest, and distinctive it draws me back in and is a reprieve from the mediocrity of so much of the rest of Surfacing. The reprieve lasts for just one song before spiraling out of control with Do What You Have to Do and Witness. Neither is good with Witness seeming to really lack any real creativity or effort. Plus, the electronic elements further sink the song. Don’t get me wrong, I do love electronica but when set aside McLachlan’s wispy voice and her largely “acoustic” feeling songs it seems very much out of place.
Once again, the album improves briefly with Angel. With little more than vocals and a piano, the song is strikingly simple sounding. This simplicity translates to what seems like honest rather than contrived emotion. Angel is gorgeous and helps to round out the end of this otherwise rather mediocre album. Black and White sounds like little more than a drum machine mixed with a “harpsichord” (aka electronic keyboard programmed to sound like a harpsichord) and McLachlan’s highly tweaked voice. Full of Grace is also painfully lacking as far as entertainment or emotional value go. It sounds a bit like something Enya would have recorded, but McLachlan doesn’t commit to her own material. It’s a sing-songy mess.
Surfacing ends with the significantly more interesting Last Dance. It’s a deceptively simple track with a modest arrangement and sparkling key world. There is no question as to why McLachlan won a Grammy for the song. This is the moment at which the singer-songwriter’s real creative talent shines most brightly.
Sarah McLachlan has proven her worth time and time again, but it is rare that she can pull off an entire album. Regardless of what I think of her as an artist, I have problems digesting Surfacing. It is not a great album; heck, I have problems just calling it a good album. What this amounts to is three or four excellent songs and a whole bunch of forgettable nothingness. If you want to hear McLachlan at her best as far as an album goes get Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Surfacing is inconsistent at best and absolutely unforgivable at worst.
Rating: 2.5/5 stars (rounded up for the quality of the singles)
Track Listing:
01. Building a Mystery
02. I Love You
03. Sweet Surrender
04. Adia
05. Do What You Have to Do
06. Witness
07. Angel
08. Black and White
09. Full of Grace
10. Last Dance
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