January 26, 1989

Publication title: Calgary Herald, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: James Muretich

Beyond Touch

As a teenager Sarah had a dream.

“I wanted to become a musician, be like Kate Bush or Peter Gabriel, have a cult following and create the most amazing music,” says McLachlan, who was passing through town this week.
Given that she’s only 20. McLachlan has come a long way toward her goal.
Her debut disc, Touch, was released on Vancouver’s Nettwerk label late last year. It has become a staple of campus radio, garnered respectable airplay on about a dozen commercial radio stations in Canada (though none in Calgary is playing it) and is beginning to receive airplay in some U.S. markets, including New York.

Her songs often sound like those of the younger Kate Bush with their ethereal style and poetic imagery, reflecting both her classical training (guitar, piano and voice) and love of rock.
Touch is even occasionally reminiscent of Sinead O’Connor minus the bouts of primal scream therapy.
It’s a highly promising debut. However, there are also times when the lyrics on Touch are a little immature. It seems as if every second character is wandering about in nature wondering about life, love and the universe.

“OK, the lyrics aren’t always great but they’re the first I’ve ever written and I led a pretty sheltered life growing up in Halifax,” McLachlan says. “I focused on my own emotions but kept them vague so that it wouldn’t seem like I was writing about my boyfriend.”

“This album is my innocence. I was really into writing beautiful music, all very pretty sounding. That’s why Touch is so soft.

“It’s just that I enjoy being taken somewhere by music. I enjoy being able to put the headphones on, close my eyes and forget about my worries.”

But since recording Touch, McLachlan has gone through a maturing process in her new hometown of Vancouver. She now realizes that music to escape by “doesn’t always have to be soft and pretty. It can be violent too.”

That willingness to face disturbing subjects more directly is reflected in one of her new compositions.
“It’s called Trust and deals with that quality or lack thereof. All one has to do is look at Vancouver where AIDS is a big thing. Hell, just about everybody’s gay there and they’re all freaked out by AIDS to the point where they don’t even want to touch anyone anymore.”

That’s a pretty abrupt change of pace for someone who was so romantic on her first album.
“I’m not romantic. I’m so sick of those lovey-dovey songs.”