Afterglow

1	Fallen
2	World on Fire
3	Stupid
4	Drifting
5	Train Wreck
6	Push
7	Answer
8	Time
9	Perfect Girl
10	Dirty Little Secret

Barnes & Noble

Sarah McLachlan ends a lengthy silence with Afterglow, her first release since the Lilith Fair souvenir Mirrorball and her first album of new songs since 1997's Surfacing. McLachlan may have gone through personal upheaval during the intervening time -- losing her mother and becoming one herself -- but one thing remains consistent: the mesmerizing beauty of her music. As in the past, the Canadian chanteuse recorded with producer Pierre Marchand, who casts her angelic vocals in jewel-like settings, where melodies spelled out by piano mingle with strummed acoustic guitars, sweeping strings, and subtle synth flourishes. But that's all icing on the cake, as the main ingredient remains McLachlan's hauntingly beautiful melodies and luminescent voice. Whether she's reflecting on her darkest hours (the enchanting first single, "Fallen"), singing an ode to true love (the whispered "Push"), or charting a broken, post-9/11 landscape ("World on Fire"), her sweet, soaring delivery brings to life the naked emotion in her words. Even when she jiggers the mix -- as on "Train Wreck," which could've emerged from a down-tempo club -- it's the marriage of voice and song that clears the path for heaven. Like Sinéad O'Connor or Kate Bush, McLachlan could bewitch just by singing the phone book -- but with her message and melodies, she does so much more: Afterglow kindles a bright flame of faith from the heart's darkest corners. Lydia Vanderloo

New York Times

Ms. McLachlan manages to convey complexity with simplicity. Neil Strauss

Blender

It's quite a feat: crushing, weighty themes conveyed via music that floats in a netherworld a few steps off the ground. Tom Moon