In the early summer of this year, Angry Baby brought you Rachael Sage’s new single, Spark, ahead of the UK release of her thirteenth album, Myopia. Happily, that album is now being released and here is our review. Rachael is one of our favourite artists to review as her songs tell stories, sometimes about dark subjects although you might not realise it at first, such is the juxtaposition of the lyrics and the lilting melodies and vocals that are Rachael’s signatures.
The sound of Myopia is a bit of a departure for Rachael, leaning as it does on guitars and strings rather than the more well known piano
Before you read on, Rachael is giving a FREE download of “English Tea, to Angry Baby readers. If you’re not already subscribed to Angry Baby, just pop the email address that you’d like it delivered to here and it will be on its way to you straight away, together with a bumper collection of music that has been shared by Angry Baby. The music comes from outstanding artists that you may not have heard before. With a mix of rock, pop, folk…you name it…there’s bound to be something new that floats your musical boat, and all for free! What’s not to like about that?!
The title track is a new kind of anthem for Rachael, who sings passionately about a “screen of judgement / in my face all the time” being lifted. It’s a declaration of self-assurance and vision that perhaps could only be made as disarmingly in the middle of a cultural crisis. Rachael’s own myopia started her thinking about near sightedness on a much more macro level. It’s all about perspective; the lens you might be looking through might be totally different to the lens of the person next to you.
The clarity that comes from being comfortable in one’s own skin is a theme that runs through much of the album with ‘Maybe She’ll Have Cats‘ being a stand out for me (“maybe she’ll have children, maybe she’ll have cats” may endear this song to those of you with children and / or cats). The song describes the difficulty of being comfortable in your own skin and also wanting that for your own children perfectly. It also has a great instrumental mid section.
Another stand out track is ‘Olivia‘ which sounds like a love song to Olivia, and my first thought on listening was that Olivia is a lucky woman to have this song written about her. It turns out that the Olivia in question is Detective Olivia Benson, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay in the TV show Law and Order SVU. Rachael says that “I am a bit obsessed with that show, not only because the acting is superb but because it really juxtaposes the creepiest, most disturbed individuals in society against this incredibly fierce, resourceful and empathetic woman who does a hell of a lot of saving and is basically the closest thing to Wonder Woman on TV.”
‘Daylight’ is a song that shines a light (pun intended) on the murky subject of domestic violence, describing the vicious circle that keeps women in abusive relationships – it’s a very powerful song, made all the more so by the gentle lilt of the vocals and guitars.
Finally, we hear Rachael sing in Yiddish for the first time on ‘Umru Mayne‘ – the punk guitars are great and the organ sound a bit like The Doors. Apparently Rachael channelled Mandy Patinkin when recording!
Myopia is released on October 19th on MPress Records. Get your copy here.
Follow Rachael at:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
And get your free download of music from Angry Baby now, including Rachael Sage’s “English Tea” – just pop your email down below!
Yes! Another artist I discovered through this blog. Love her visuals.
Thanks for reviewing her! <3