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Album review: Sarah McLachlan, Shine On

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Album: Shine On
Artist: Sarah McLachlan
(Verve)
Three stars out of five

Is Sarah McLachlan playing games with us? “You turn the radio on, play your favourite song and cry,” the Vancouver songstress sings on In Your Shoes, the happiest, snappiest song she’s recorded in years. It’s the opening number from her seventh album with producer Pierre Marchand, Shine On, which adds a few new facets to McLachlan’s piano-heavy repertoire, but falls short of a creative reawakening. She’s decidedly more upbeat — thanks to new love and a desire “to tell a new story” — so even her songs about loss (Surrender and Certainty, Song For My Father) and letting go (Brink of Destruction) don’t feel as grim as if she had tackled them 10 years ago. “One thing that I know / Is it will get better,” her icy voice breathes on Beautiful Girl, one of her trademark languorous piano ballads. “I can taste you in the coolest raindrops,” she sings on The Sound That Love Makes, an almost lighthearted, Broadway-style ukulele ‘n’ piano ditty. As refreshing as some of these tunes are, the ’90s soft-rock sonics sound extremely dated — no thanks to Marchand or Bob Rock, who produced two of the tracks. If anything, McLachlan needs to make an even bolder move and work with a new producer. She performs Wednesday, Oct. 29 at the Winspear Centre.



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