Sarah McLachlan

After five years on the mommy track, Sarah McLachlan is back with new music that seems instantly familiar. This album isn’t a departure from McLachlan’s previous work; it’s an extension of it, which longtime fans surely will appreciate. If she were a poet, McLachlan might be Emily Dickinson—deceptively simple and full of rapture and passion layered over with melancholy. “World on Fire” is one of the best 9/11 songs I’ve heard, perhaps because it avoids the obvious invocation of the event in favor of a languid exploration of grief. Also noteworthy are the album’s opening track, “Fallen,” and “Train Wreck,” both of which deal with being disappointed in one’s self. If you already like McLachlan, you’ll love this album, but it probably won’t win any new converts to the fan club.