Having recently reviewed two of Sarah's singles that are part of this new album, it makes sense to take a listen to one that hasn't already been reviewed, called "The Now". It's the title of the album, so makes sense to review that one. Well, it does to me!
Anyone that is a regular reader of my reviews will know that I am a big fan of Sarahs music and coming hot on the heels of her recent BCMA nominations and a trip to Nashville, we can't wait to hit play.
"The Now" is a gentle ballad that weighs in at a mighty 4 minutes and 20 seconds. The intro of the song is mainly driven by a gentle picked acoustic guitar plus the distant echos of an electric guitar playing second fiddle for most of the start of the song, which adds a 2nd dimension to the track.
A strummed guitar gets an airing as we get into the meat of the song and layers of bvs add depth to the lead vocals, as they gently lift the song with a haunting quality.
Talking of fiddles, there is a string solo about 2/3rds of the way into the song which is an interesting arrangement choice. On the whole it's a nice bit of bow work and with a distorted electric way in the background which gives the listener time to reflect on their own "Now".
But it's the vocals that really drive the song on, in this fairly sparse arrangement and there is a lot of repetition with the main melody and "look to the future" and "it's all in the now" lines.
The whole album "The Now" is out on November 21st and having already reviewed the excellent "My Beating Heart" and "My Grandparents and Me", the album will give Sarahs fans a lovely little boost as the nights are drawing in.
As a song, its a totally different vibe from the rest of the tracks on the album but its another great piece of work from Sarah and the team. The songs message is a somewhat retrospective in that we have to look back at our lives and then let it go, look to the future. After all, as Sarah says, its all in The Now.