sarah masen
Wendy Lee Nentwig - CCM Magazine
Sarah Masen has been touched by angels on her third major label effort but not the Sunday night TV kind. Rather, she’s borrowing from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which finds The Bard suggesting that we mortals are the stuff angels’ dreams are made of.
With that heavenly notion as inspiration, Masen set out in search of the dream-worthy elements found in everyday life, those little miracles most of us miss, and she bears witness to them in this new collection of songs. Such keen insight is something that seems to come naturally to the two-time Dove nominee, and in the nearly three years since her last album, her powers of observation seem to have grown sharper.
The Dreamlife of Angels also features a more mature, maternal Masen, with marriage and motherhood seeming to have instilled in her a commitment to the idea of community. Shes reaching out to soothe the suffering of others with a hesitant but heartfelt hope, as on “We Are a Beginning,” a tune Masen wrote for her own 1998 wedding. Less a love song, though, it explores the idea that we cant do itlifealone. We need God and each other. “Girl on Fire” follows, with Masen struggling to help a friend whos reluctant to change her situation, despite the danger to herself.
Listeners will find a few of the breathy, ethereal tracks for which Masen is known, this time titled “The Valley” and “Home.” Often delivered in not much more than a whisper, the tender honesty of these songs seems to almost make their words stick in Masens throat. Theres also a sweet cover of “Give a Little Bit,” made popular by Supertramp, before Masen takes a dark turn on the W.H. Auden-inspired “Midnight.”
It’s bolder tracks like “Hope,” though, that show what the usually soft-spoken Masen is really made of vocally and otherwise. “Hit and Run” is another weighty tune, softened by the upbeat tambourine and shaker keeping time in the background.
At the production helm of Dreamlife is John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter) who enlisted the help of musicians Tim Lauer (Matraca Berg, John Wesley Harding), Harry Stinson (Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle) and Glenn Worf (Brian Adams, Johnny Cash), among others.
With that kind of talent, some may be surprised to find the music sounds at times almost passive. But that minor imperfection isnt likely to keep anyone awake at night. This disc is still sure to inspire sweet dreams in angels and music fans alike.
