Sarah McLachlan has broken more than a decade of silence with the release of Better Broken, her first new studio album in eleven years, alongside the single “Reminds Me” featuring Katie Gavin of MUNA.
The Canadian singer-songwriter, who has spent over three decades at the forefront of global pop-rock, says Better Broken marks both a creative renewal and a personal milestone. The album arrived last week through Concord Records and has already been hailed by The New York Times as one of the season’s most anticipated releases.
“Reminds Me,” the third single from the album, was written during the pandemic. McLachlan admits its origins were a little unusual. “I went down the Yellowstone rabbit hole on TV and kind of fell in love with the whole cowboy-country thing,” she explains. “I wanted to write a cowboy love song. It started as an anniversary present for my partner, so it needed to be simple, pure, and beautiful – maybe even a little sappy.”
The track, shaped around pedal steel and acoustic textures, became a duet when McLachlan invited Katie Gavin into the studio. “Katie’s voice brought exactly the warmth and honesty the song needed,” McLachlan says.
The album’s title comes from its opening track, “Better Broken,” a song that reflects on resilience through life’s hardships. McLachlan, who has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, frames this record as a study of strength through vulnerability.
Much of Better Broken was recorded at Los Angeles’ famed Sound City Studios, a location steeped in music history. The sessions saw McLachlan expand her creative circle, enlisting an impressive line-up including Wendy Melvoin (Prince and the Revolution), drummer Matt Chamberlain (Bob Dylan, David Bowie), multi-instrumentalist Benny Bock (Lucy Dacus, beabadoobee) and pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Kacey Musgraves, Florence + The Machine).
Producers Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, boygenius) and Will Maclellan (Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers) helped shape the sound, adding a more expansive palette to McLachlan’s trademark lush, moody pop-rock.
Highlights from the record include “One In a Long Line,” a defiant anthem protesting the rollback of women’s rights, “Long Road Home,” a soaring love song, and “Gravity,” the first track recorded for the project.
Legacy And Lilith Fair
McLachlan’s influence extends beyond her own recordings. She founded Lilith Fair in the late ’90s, a festival that became a landmark for women in music. Featuring names such as Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Tracy Chapman, and Fiona Apple, it challenged the male-dominated touring landscape of the time.
This legacy has recently been revisited in the documentary Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery. Directed by Ally Pankiw and produced by Dan Levy’s Not A Real Production Company, the film premiered earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Away from the spotlight, McLachlan has built a philanthropic legacy through the Sarah McLachlan School of Music (SoM), a not-for-profit she founded in Vancouver in 2002. SoM provides free music education and mentorship to children and youth facing barriers, with over 1,200 students enrolled annually across campuses in Vancouver, New Westminster, and Edmonton. McLachlan personally covers the administrative costs, ensuring every dollar raised supports the students directly.
Tracklist – Better Broken
Better Broken
Gravity
The Last to Go
Only Way Out Is Through
Reminds Me (feat. Katie Gavin)
One In a Long Line
Only Human
Long Road Home
Rise
Wilderness
If This Is the End…
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