Album Review: Sarah Harmer, ‘Are You Gone’
Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer is back with what may be the finest work of her career. Are You Gone – her first studio album since 2010’s Oh Little Fire – is full of lush, beautifully arranged instrumentation and Harmer’s exquisite vocal performance.
Indeed, Harmer’s voice is full of complexity and weight, but she wields it with such effortlessness, it almost comes across like a light and easy thing. One could get lost in its many nuances and forget to listen to what it is that voice is singing about. That would be a shame, as she’s also a talented lyricist, mixing a sort of conversational approach with sneak-attack poetry.
“I climbed, climbed for the view,” she sings in the moody “The Lookout.” “Just wanted to be out on the edge with you.” All the instrumentation supports this image, pulling the listener higher toward some kind of beautiful view. Then, suddenly, in a bouncing rhythm, like a bird struggling against the wind, she sings, “The beauty of the place was blocked by the way I held you too close,” over and over. It’s an awkward refrain but it draws out the image and makes clear what the songs characters are looking out for.
The pace of the album drifts back and forth from urgent rock tunes to laid-back love songs. Granted, they’re all love songs. But Harmer’s incredible vocals are best served when she has room to draw the words out. She becomes playful in places (the perfect “Little Frogs”), dreamy, heart-tugging in others (“Just Get Here,” “Wildlife”).
“Heaven, be silent,” she sings in “Wildlife,” with so much space between the words, the galloping instrumentation falls away and Harmer is alone. (“I scared all the wildlife away,” she sang earlier.)
Even when Harmer is singing about “a lonely sky” (“Shoemaker”), she can’t help but bring in the hope of what’s possible, dropping a line like, “I’ve never seen a horizon so wide.”
Are You Gone is a wonderful album for this late in the winter. It’s full of transitions and leans ever forward toward something more promising than this moment. But something indicates it will hold up whatever the season, whatever the year.
Are You Gone is available now at Apple Music and Amazon.
WED, FEB 26
Birchmere
Alexandria, VA
THU, FEB 27
World Cafe Live
Philadelphia, PA
SAT, FEB 29
Joe’s Pub
New York, NY
SUN, MAR 1
City Winery Boston
Boston, MA
TUE, MAR 24
Market Hall Performing Arts Centre
Peterborough, ON Canada
WED, MAR 25
Market Hall Performing Arts Centre
Peterborough, ON Canada
FRI, MAR 27
Algonquin Theatre
Huntsville, ON Canada
SAT, MAR 28
Empire Theatre
Belleville, ON Canada
TUE, MAR 31
The Danforth Music Hall
Toronto, ON Canada
WED, APR 1
The Danforth Music Hall
Toronto, ON Canada
FRI, APR 3
London Music Hall
London, ON Canada
SAT, APR 4
War Memorial Hall
Guelph, ON Canada
TUE, APR 14
Meaford Hall Arts And Cultural Centre
Meaford, ON Canada
WED, APR 15
Orillia Opera House
Orillia, ON Canada
FRI, APR 17
Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts
Parry Sound, ON Canada
SAT, APR 18
Collège Boréal – Sudbury
Greater Sudbury, ON Canada
SUN, APR 19
The Machine Shop
Sault Ste. Marie, ON Canada
TUE, APR 21
The Garrick Centre
Winnipeg, MB Canada
WED, APR 22
Broadway Theatre
Saskatoon, SK Canada
FRI, APR 24
The Starlite Room
Edmonton, AB Canada
SAT, APR 25
Bella Concert Hall
Calgary, AB Canada
SUN, APR 26
Hume Hotel & Spa
Nelson, BC Canada
TUE, APR 28
Sid Williams Theatre
Courtenay, BC Canada
WED, APR 29
Tidemark Theatre
Campbell River, BC Canada
THU, APR 30
Capital Ballroom
Victoria, BC Canada
SAT, MAY 2
Vogue Theatre
Vancouver, BC Canada
MON, MAY 4
Triple Door
Seattle, WA
TUE, MAY 5
The Old Church
Portland, OR
THU, MAY 7
Swedish American Hall
San Francisco, CA
FRI, MAY 8
McCabe’s Guitar Shop
Santa Monica, CA
TUE, MAY 12
Soiled Dove Underground
Denver, CO
FRI, MAY 15
Old Town School of Folk Music
Chicago, IL
SAT, MAY 16
The Ark
Ann Arbor, MI
