Surfacing: A Strong Follow-Up To A Crossover Success
Written: Jul 22 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Entrancing mystically-tinged art pop with dreamy soundscapes.
Cons: There's a fine line between peaceful beauty and tedium.
The Bottom Line: Although it doesn't beat "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" in the battle for Sarah McLachlan's best album, "Surfacing" is full of entrancing moments that reward repeat listens.
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| floatingcity's Full Review: Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan |
Released four years after her breakthrough album “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy”, “Surfacing” is the fourth record from Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, and her biggest commercial hit to date. Although it’s not quite as strong as its predecessor, “Surfacing” is a homely, smooth collection of songs that prettily reflects its creator’s talents.
When it comes to Sarah McLachlan and similar contemporaries, I can usually go either way in terms of appreciation and enjoyment. There seems to have been a particular breed of female singer-songwriter emerging around the Lilith Fair era, whereby cutesy neo-hippy mannerisms, bohemian dress and minimalist dirges became the most popular subset of the genre – and most of them leave me cold. However, Sarah’s music is a little different, in that it’s one of the few instances where I would use the term ‘boring’ as a positive adjective. None of the songs on “Surfacing” are particularly sharp or attention grabbing, but their true strength lies in the twilight world McLachlan is able to produce, utilising gentle piano chord progressions and her soft vocals to cocoon the listener. The cumulative effect can either be enchanting or advertised as a cure for insomnia, but my feelings lean more towards the former outcome, with plenty of textured layers allowing the record to unfurl with multiple listens.
It’s little surprise to see that the two most instantly accessible songs on “Surfacing” were issued as its first singles. “Building A Mystery” opens the record with mid-tempo guitars, upon which producer Pierre Marchand conjures a thick, autumnal atmosphere. The percussive elements move the song along at a respectable pace, and attention is primarily directed to the strength of the main vocal melody. It’s catchy and accessible, with a pleasant performance from Sarah and lyrics that come close to being flowery, yet leap back at just the right moment (“You live in a church/Where you sleep with voodoo dolls/And you won’t give up the search, for the ghosts in the halls”). The echoing guitar/synth tones that open “Sweet Surrender” are equally promising, with the record’s typically spacious production and layered instrumentation. The song’s refrain is the most traditionally memorable thing here, and the well-written transitions from verse to chorus display a good level of pop craftsmanship.
The third single release from “Surfacing” was the more restrained “Adia”, which continues the mid tempo art-pop vibe with a few slithers of piano hidden beneath fragile acoustic guitars. Once again, the tune is sweet and engaging, and chorus’ lyrical musing that “we are still innocent […] we all falter, it doesn’t matter” is honest and subtly touching.
Moving on from the guitars, a decent portion of the album is devoted to ballads of varying intensity. “Do What You Have To Do” strips away percussion for Sarah to perform over gentle piano and a mournful cello, with a few ethereal sound effects occasionally drifting into the mix. Mixing the calm mood with some poetic lyrical imagery, the song is emotionally affective and warrants repeat listens. The expansive, echoing tones are embraced even more on “I Love You”, with densely layered production and keyboard patterns that drift through speakers like a swirling fog. An acoustic guitar solo deviates from the mystical ambience a little, but ultimately acts to ground the track and prevent it from drifting away.
Two more of the songs may provoke a sense of recognition, the first being the sparse piano ballad “Angel”. It has achieved greater scope through its use on film soundtracks, as well as being covered by successful Irish boyband Westlife. Sarah’s version remains the strongest take on the piece, and she provides one of her more emotional, powerful deliveries, calmly accented with stabs of orchestration. The gorgeous “Full of Grace” may also ring a bell for some listeners – I can’t hear it without remembering its emotionally devastating use in the second season finale of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and it ends up having a massive punch. The string arrangement is majestic and sophisticated, with carefully measured horns adding a wintry and powerful undercurrent to the proceedings.
As far as the other songs go, both the calmly trippy “Witness” and the heavily percussive “Black and White” don’t quite hold up to the others, but both have their moments (such as the scrabbling, distorted sounds towards the climax of “Witness”, which are the harshest present on the record by a long shot), and never detract from the general, honey-drip flow. The constant reliance on mid-tempo and/or slow tracks can cause things to drag occasionally, but there’s generally enough depth to the arrangements to make the album reward repeat spins. Furthermore, the wonderfully off-kilter closer “Last Dance” shows a welcome degree of tongue-in-cheek experimentation, being an instrumental piece with piano and cello that features a wonky Moog synth contributing to its warped waltz.
Taken as a whole, “Surfacing” is a rather charming art-pop collection, and while it’s not the most scintillating music you’ll ever hear, it has an idiosyncratic charm akin to flipping through a decade-old photo album – equal parts warmth, comfort and sadness. Sarah’s breakout release “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy” should remain the first port of call for anyone unfamiliar with her music, but “Surfacing” has enough strong songs to make it an enthralling, viable follow-up for fans and newcomers alike.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Listening
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floatingcity
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Location: UK
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