Rachael Sage - Chandelier

Rachael Sage
Chandelier
MPress Records

Rating:

Seeming never to rest for very long, Rachael Sage has released her eighth studio album in Chandelier, a thirteen track affair that finds the songwriter penning songs that shine the spotlight on intense, but troubled relationships and introspection and delivered with her usual sweet and smart pop sensibilities.

Ambitious and undeniably talented, Sage produced Chandelier and wrote nearly all of songs featured here with the exception of ‘Mexico,’ a gem originally written by Jay Clifford of the band Jump (formerly, Jump, Little Children). Sage’s version isn’t superior to the original version, but she manages to add her brand of delicate nuance to the song.

On Chandelier, it’s Sage’s own songs that are more noteworthy; ‘Invincible’ finds the songwriter singing about an unlikely relationship formed at a funeral, realizing that the relationship would most likely be doomed, but relishes the moment nonetheless.

Sage’s storytelling gifts are most evident on songs like the sweet and biographical ‘Corinne,’ a song based on a chance encounter with a lonely woman down on her luck that Sage met before a show in a ladies room.

Other standouts include the album’s opener, ‘Vertigo,’ a smooth, but steady-moving whirlpool of piano and cello that Sage wrote about the discovery that the man she was dating was already married. And ‘Angel In My View,’ shines as a bright, horn-driven pop song which is the sunniest on the album.

‘Moonlight & Fireflies’ became my immediate favorite because it sounds like nothing else on the record; there’s a density to this song that lacks on many of the others. Perhaps it’s the accompaniment of Sage’s friend, Rachael Davis, which adds the extra layer that these other songs don’t possess.

The title track closes the album with a beautiful piano arrangement, with Sage appreciating her role as both a singer and performer, illustrating a striking metaphor of life’s beauty and fragility to the stunning sight of a chandelier, which could fall at any moment.
 

WWW:

Rachael Sage - The official site.
Rachael Sage @ MySpace - Official MySpace page.

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