Revisiting: Sarah McLachlan | Touch

 Sepia Sarah models now-vintage Laura Ashley. 

This month's revisitation is to Canadian chanteuse Sarah McLachlan's debut Touch, released in 1988; her first and last album to experiment with an ethereal sound best described as Enya New-Agery meets the percussive leanings of Kate Bush, via the melodrama of Florence + The Machine. It's an album quite unlike anything else she recorded. For instance, the Medieval folk of opener Out Of The Shadows could not be further away from her later, more popular MOR style:

Though she continued to cover left-field topics, such as homewrecking on Adia and overdose on Angel, Touch was the final time the production matched her unconventional themes. Considering this is her only album not to be produced by Pierre Marchand, it's easy to see how she fell into the easy-listening world of Natalie Merchant and co from Solace onwards:

"There's no one left to finger"? Her 90s work is edgier than I remember. 

Touch not only features complex musical arrangements, but also has McLachlan at her most lyrically complex. Lines like "Through your eyes the strains of battle, like a brooding storm / You're up and down these pristine velvet walls like focus never forms", from Vox, trounces later attempts at poignancy and gives fellow obscure lyricist Stevie Nicks a run for her Coke money. 

These are adventures in McLachlan's teenage diaries. She was just 19 at the time of recording, yet the unabashed soul-searching is just what makes this album so affecting. The extended version of Vox (added to the re-issue in 1989), may sound like a dated 12" mix now, but the sassy, demanding outro is full of the spirit that's missing from much of her following works. Meanwhile on Steaming, she's less commanding, but just as captivating, as she waits for her lover's instruction:

There are the misfires. Uphill Battle is a wasteful instrumental, Strange World is a mundane track that doesn't feel fully realised, and closing track Ben's Song is a sparse, piano-led weepy that's lost without the driving instrumentation featured elsewhere. 

The aria of the mystic title track is what one might expect from Charlotte Church now that she's gone all alternative, and despite its over-the-top lyrics, Sad Clown is carried by climbing synths, whilst the male vocals on Trust's chorus compliment McLachlan's higher register as she tackles more heartache. 

Touch may be a smidgen too hysterical for those who are used to her safer, more ordinary offerings, but that's because it remains her most experimental and intriguing work to date. Now all she needs to do is ditch Pierre and re-hire Greg Reely - theatrical females are back in. 

Welcome Back... Siobhan Donaghy

She was the first member to jump out of the Sugababes car before it crashed, and with a reformation of the original line-up recently confirmed, it's time to welcome Siobhan Donaghy back to the room. 

In 2001 record label London dropped the 'Babes but signed Shiv, and she debuted with the rock-influenced Revolution In Me two years later. First single Overrated, a dig at the original 3-piece's first hit Overload, made the top 20, then further singles bombed. 

She returned in 2007 with a new Parlophone contract under her arm and an experimental flair up her sleeve, standing out amongst Take That's comeback and Rihanna's meteorological reign, and it's her second album, Ghosts, that earns her such a warm welcome back. 

Don’t Give It Up, the lead single, opens the set with a galloping electronic riff that plummets into a swooning chorus, setting the scene for a Cocteau Twins-styled comeback.

The grand ballad So You Say followed, replete with firework sounds and hypnotic harmonies, a sister track perhaps to Patrick Wolf's Bluebells or Frou Frou's Hear Me Out. 

Even Ghost's more straight-forward tracks have a kookier edge, such as the Jem-like breeze of Sometimes, with its non-lyrical chorus made up entirely of whoops and shrieks, and would have made an excellent 3rd cut. 

Admittedly, there are a few throwaway tracks. There's A Place sounds like a One Touch demo whilst the strut and funk of 12-Bar Acid Blues (god only knows what that title means), doesn't quite lift the rhyme-by-numbers number off the ground. 

The more peculiar moments make up for the less inspiring ones - Goldfish, (with hints of Kate Bush and  Felt Mountain era Goldfrapp) highlights Siobhan's vocal power, as the album's producer James Sanger wraps her voice in a celestial breakdown and an almost trance-inducing climax.  

Other songs are more low-key, yet still come with intriguing whispers and sweeping refrains aplenty. Styfling, a track that was left off the album, was later released as a remix by Square 1. Ignore the version with the rap segments and go for this:

The album closer is the title piece, and as a song in reverse, bonkers lines like ‘fuel full fat her glass of milk’ are transformed into a spooky chant, giving Roma Ryan's Loxian language tracks on  Enya's  Amarantine album a run for their money.

Overall, despite being unsuccessful (it peaked at #92), the album is a healthy mix of radio friends and complex tunes. Whether or not the Sugababes 1.0 reunion will showcase Ms Donaghy's esoteric leanings remains to be seen. Until then, this is the go-to album for anyone who thinks that Nicola Roberts was the first girlbander to do Odd 'n' Peculiar solo. 

Ladytron | Gravity The Seducer

Coming just months after their greatest hits collection, Ladytron's 5th album ushers in a wistful, downtempo era, and in a move last seen with Britney Spears's Radar single - Ace Of Hz, a new track made for Best Of 00-10 - has disappointingly crept onto this album's tracklist as well.  

Admittedly, it fits in better here than amongst the gothic bombast found on the compilation, but added to the three instrumentals, one of which is an elevator-esque version of the above, there's a distinct air of filler on Gravity The Seducer. 

Official first single and opener White Elephant sets the tone with its dreamlike quality, wafting through its 4-minute duration like a debutante at a party. It completes the transition from the rock-influenced tones of their last album, making it clear that this release is a gentle tap on the shoulder compared to the winning punch of Velocifero.

Second single Mirage picks up the pace a little, and Ambulances is a captivating mix of trip-hop and melancholia, not too far from Mono's Life In Mono. 

The majority of tracks are sung by de facto frontwoman Helen Marnie, so it's a shame that Bulgarian singer Mira Aroyo (the group's unique selling point), has just a measly 2 tracks here. The set's midpoints are the brooding Moon Palace and Altitude Blues, and prove to be album highlights.

Overall, the tracks are noticeably shorter than on the band's previous efforts - a relief as oftentimes great tracks like Ghosts or Seventeen have suffered from repetition and overly-long instrumental segments. A sci-fi feel prevails - indeed many tracks sound tailor-made for a galactic video game. Even the album cover looks like a snapshot of a faraway planet. 

Basically...

Ladytron's softer approach doesn't quite pay off. The poetic, obscure lyrics and Helen's cool, disaffected vocals keep proceedings familiar, although none of the tracks are as infectious as Blue Jeans or Destroy Everything You Touch. The ethereal harmonies and enigmatic themes are a bit like Enya in space, and whilst the cosmic riffs and twinkles work well, the intricate production somewhat drowns the vocals. A real change of pace would have been a happy, upbeat and accessible piece. As it stands, their 5th album in just over a decade harbours no surprises.