Sarah Harmer - O Little Fire

It's been a decade since Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer's You Were Here brought her breakthrough success, landing in Time's Top 10 listing and hailed as "Debut Album of the Year." With an armful of exceptional songs and what the NY Times calls a "beautiful, precise voice", the Juno-nominated Harmer has charmed the most cynical critic over the course of three solo albums, the most recent -- 2005's I'm A Mountain -- winning accolades for its more traditionally inspired acoustic folk sound. Now in a stylistic about face, Harmer describes her upcoming new album Oh Little Fire, due June 22 via Zoë/Rounder, as "much more of an electric album" adding that "it definitely rocks a lot more."

Co-produced with Gavin Brown (Metric), Harmer's return to a more upbeat direction on Fire is evident on the effervescent lead single "Captive," a song that has more in common with Leslie Feist and Ingrid Michaelson than her previous rootsy Mountain songs. "I specifically tried to get out of the pastoral, contemplative end of the spectrum and went for a more direct, aggressive style of production," she observes. Recorded in various locations, from Brown's Toronto studio to a hotel room vocal session with guest Neko Case, O Little Fire brings Harmer back from what she calls her "wilderness years", focusing on worthy environmental causes, and assuredly, vibrantly onto the musical stage again. Highly recommended.

Artist Site

Sarah Harmer - "Captive" (from Oh Little Fire)

Photo credit: Anita Doron