Eternal Return

About

For an artist who spent the early part of her career crafting lyrics shrouded in ambiguity, the opening track on Sarah Blasko’s fifth LP, “I Am Ready,” contains one very telling line: “I am ready to be revealed.” She carries through with that promise over the course of the album, openly and joyously celebrating love and the heady rush of a new relationship. Given that her previous record, <i>I Awake</i>, was inspired by the isolation she felt while living alone in Brighton, and that 2009’s <i>As Day Follows Night</i> had heartbreak at its thematic core, the pop leanings and lyrical warmth of <i>Eternal Return</i> are as welcome as they are surprising. Blasko began writing the album on piano but feared it sounded too depressing, so replaced that instrument with analog synths, in particular an ’80s model called the Prophet ’08. It bathes the album in a nostalgic glow, a sweet companion to the hope and joy in Blasko’s lyrics (“Feeling so strong now you’re with me/I can take on whatever comes my way,” she sings in “Maybe This Time”). The album is best summed up in “Without”: “If you have not love, you have nothing at all.”

via Apple Music