INTERVIEW: Sarah McLachlan on the release of her first album in almost ten years 'Better Broken': "It was a really exhilarating and joyful process to rediscover how much I loved being in the studio."

Interview: Jett Tattersall
Image: Kharen Hill
Published: 19 September 2025

Each decade of music has its own defining moments when it comes to female artists and the impact they leave on the music industry - inspiring the next generation and often changing the landscape completely.

In the 1990s, as third wave feminism swept the globe, a new wave of female singer-songwriters dominated music, with a sound that was almost the polar opposite to the synthpop sounds that defined the previous decade. An acoustic, indie-pop-rock-folk sound ruled the charts, coupled with an intimacy and honesty in the lyrics that in many ways predated the era of confessional pop that emerged in the 2020s.

One of the artists at the forefront of the new order of pop music in the 1990s was Canada’s Sarah MacLachlan. First releasing music in 1988, it would not be until the mid-1990s when she broke through globally with the massive international hits ‘Adia’, ‘Angel’, ‘Fallen’ and ‘Stupid’.

Alongside her hit music, McLachlan was the founder of the iconic, all-female music festival Lillith Fair. Born out of her frustration with music festivals refusing to book female acts, she founded Lillith Fair in 1997, with it becoming the highest grossing festival of that year. A documentary on the festival, Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, will premiere on Disney+ on 21 September.

Today, McLachlan makes a return to music with the release of her tenth studio album Better Broken. Her first album in nine years, and her first of original material since 2014’s Shine On, it is also breaking new creative ground for McLachlan as it sees her working with new producers after spending the last 30 years working primarily with just one, Pierre Marchand.

“I’d worked with the same person for 30-plus years, so this really felt like stepping out on a limb and trying something new,” McLachlan says.

McLachlan’s music has always had a gorgeously warm indie-folk-pop-rock sound, but also with an appreciation of dance pop evidenced by the many dancefloor orientated remixes of her song that have popped up during her career. Better Broken follows this theme, with a diverse range of sounds that come together to tell a cohesive story.

The album opens with the title track ‘Better Broken’, the title reflecting on the fact that despite the multiple struggles we endure in life, it is from these experiences that we grow and become a better person - ‘some things are better broken’ McLachlan sings.

“I’m 57 now, and nobody gets to this point unscathed,” McLachlan says. “Life is hard, and you get bashed around a bit, but I feel more wholly myself than I ever have, I think it’s true that we learn so much more about ourselves from our failures - what it takes to heal and find ways to stay open and curious is a theme for a lot of this record.”

The song is a gorgeous, swaying pop track that with its subtle trip hop, electronic soundscape is probably the most ‘pop’ song on the album, teamed with McLachlan’s still breathtaking vocals.

‘Gravity’, with its mix of keyboard and beautiful strings is cinematic in its scope while still managing to stay intimate, while ‘The Last to Go’, like the album’s title track, brings in a discrete, shuffling electronic beat.

Latest single ‘Reminds Me’, featuring MUNA singer Katie Gavin, has a country sound, crossed with a hint of a lullaby in its melodies and dreamy instrumentation. Lyrically it is a charming declaration and celebration of love “Cause you and me were meant to be / A sweet and simple melody / That I want to sing the song for you until our time has all run through.”

‘Only Human’ opens with the sounds of a discordant organ before transforming into a piano ballad that explores the fragility of human nature, but with a message of hope to never give up on yourself: ‘everything’s gonna be alright / Even if it’s not / Because you’re only human / You can only take so much before you break’.

McLachlan’s political voice is strongest on the songs ‘One In A Long Line’ and ‘Rise’. ‘One In A Long Line’ is a rallying call against the steady erosion of women’s rights, against a mix of synths, guitars and drums. ‘I’ve travelled roads that you were never on…you don’t get to decide the way I live’, she sings. The vocals of McLachlan’s daughters, India and Taja Sood, join her on the track.

“At first I debated about how far to push on this song, because I’ve seen how people get eviscerated when they speak their minds about anything political,” McLachlan says. “But finally I decided that I can’t be one of those people who waits for someone else to speak up. I want my daughters to feel free, and I want all women to be able to choose how they live their lives.”

‘Rise’ has a gentle, pop-country sound in contradiction to its lyrics, which McLachlan refers to as a “hopeful lament”. It references the difficult political environment we live in while seeking a different path forward. ‘Let’s lean into the trenches / Try to reconcile the wrongs / Learn to love a better way before all goodwill is gone’.

The album ends on the epic ‘If This Is The End…’ which was inspired by the end of the world. An unsettling, dark but ultimately intriguing five and a half minute song, it builds in intensity before pulling back into quieter moments before bringing together a 28 member choir for the dramatic last minute of the song. “So let’s drink to the Earth that will wear a new tapestry…All of our struggles, our ego and avarice / Fall at the end of the road” While sonically it sounds like nothing else on the album, it is the perfect way to end an album that explores humanity and our society as it stands today.

Better Broken is a remarkable return for McLachlan and with its beautiful melodies, harmonies and soundscapes it is a reminder of exactly why she is such a revered artist. It is not, however, just a simple continuation of her 1990s sound, but an enthralling progression in her creativity, with new sonics, new feels and hard hitting stories that truly reflect both our world and just where McLachlan is at in her personal story. An album to bury yourself deeply in, we recently caught up with McLachlan to chat all about the creation of Better Broken.

Hi, Sarah! Congratulations on Better Broken, it is so lovely to have you back and to hear you in these beautiful songs. It's been a hot minute, and I imagine stepping into the studio again was a bit of a thing. Lovely, but weird?
Yeah, I mean, 11 years is a long time! I was writing during that time, but I was also chairing both the foundation board and the school board of my free music schools (Sarah McLachlan School Of Music), I was raising two daughters. My second one became a competitive dancer, so I was a dance mom, a constant to and fro to all the competitions. I just kind of got busy! And with covid, I got to be home for the first time and actually stay put for like, a year and a half, and it was really hard to pull myself out of that bubble and go back out in the world. Of course, as soon as I did the very first gig I did, I got covid, which was ridiculous!

But, you know, it was about having enough material that I felt really strongly about. And because at the time I thought this might be my last record, I kind of owed it to myself to try something new, to try working with somebody new. Which was really hard, because it kind of felt like I was cheating on [former producer] Pierre because I absolutely love and adore him and love what we created together, but I needed to step out of my comfort zone and try something different. I met [producer] Tony Berg, and just kind of fell in love with him right away, he's got such an incredible encyclopaedia of musical understanding, he's so creative. And then Will Maclellan, who co produced the record is a brilliant engineer, and between the two of them, we just laughed the whole time - making the saddest music! It was a really exhilarating and joyful process to rediscover how much I loved being in the studio, and how much I loved that exploration of finding out all the different ways a song could go.

I love that. Going through this album you have almost a multiverse in an area I've never heard you before. Production wise, you lean into synths, there's this pop sensibility that's coming in more which is so so fun. Did that all feel quite new for you, was that nerve wracking to play with those sounds?
Not at all, but it felt absolutely new and fresh and exciting. Benny Bock was there on almost every session, and he is just masterful in all these old 1970s and 1980s synths. There's not a single factory sound on the record. Tony would say, ‘can you make sounds of the ocean on that thing?’ Literally, 30 seconds later, he's got seagulls. On ‘If This Is The End…’, he used an Oberheim, it's like a four voice keyboard, and he just created all these crazy sounds that sounded on one hand, kind of retro, but on the other hand, incredibly fresh, certainly when you use it with my music, which has been historically a little more wood resonating instrument based. I loved taking it to another place and still having that earthy guttiness, but also this real different sound, different tones. They're still really earthy, even though they're coming out of a keyboard.

It's really interesting you say that because when the world first met you in the 1990s, your music at the time, and the music industry as a whole was moving into alternative music, folk-rom and pulling away from synths and that 80s sound. It's just really lovely to hear you and your voice leaning into those sounds now with such joy, because those two wouldn't have crossed paths in the 1990s.
Thank you. There are so many unique and great hybrids being created now because all all the old rules are out the door, and you can basically mash up anything together. That's what's exciting, and certainly what's exciting about working with a lot of young musicians, they have a really particular and unique voice and mashing those all together on this record just created magic every time

Beautiful. I want to talk about ‘Gravity’, this is a song and a half, and you said it came from a reckoning with your daughter. I'm curious, how was that to put into a song that you knew was to get released? I imagine the journaling part was cathartic, but then to release that, that must have been something else.
For me, it was important to play it to my daughter and get her permission first. I said to her, people are going to ask me what this is about, are you okay with me speaking about this? I'm an open book, but it’s different when you bring someone else into the situation that may or may not understand the ramifications of it. She's 23 we had a big conversation about it, and said, ‘No, Mom, seriously, I'm fine. I'm proud of our relationship. I'm proud of the work we did, and I'm happy for you to talk about this.’

It is a reckoning. Things came to a head with us where I thought that I was doing the right thing and even though it wasn't working, I just kept trying to do the same thing, thinking it was the right way. I realised that we were not connecting, and in a time where she needed me the most, I thought I was there, but I wasn't there for her in the way that I wished I would. As a parent, that's kind of gutting when your kid is suffering and struggling, and you can't reach them.

Having counselling and peeling back all the layers of the onion and our patterns, and seeing the way I was talking to her, even though what I was saying was, I love you. I'm here for you, I got you, she wasn't getting that. So I had to learn how to communicate differently, she was then able to understand that I wasn't trying to pick a fight, I wasn't trying to make her feel bad about herself, I was just trying to give her a sense of self and you can do this. But instead, she was like ‘you're making me feel bad about myself all the time’.

It's funny, because it's exactly what my mom did to me, and I was always like I'm gonna be the opposite of my mother, and then somehow, I did the same thing! It's ridiculous. Family systems, counselling, I'm a huge advocate for it. It really helped us, and because of it, we have a really great relationship now.

At Women In Pop, we often speak about women's emotional experiences. Our emotions are equally something that's lauded as our superpower, but then we're punished for when it doesn't serve a purpose. Your work has always shouted that in the most beautiful, gentle way by leaning in to your deeply empathic writing and delivery and making it sound like a battle cry. You sing on this album about fragility, and don't mistake it for weakness. Looking at the artists we have today, do you feel like the industry is listening or perhaps addressing and treating women differently now, or are they still asked to justify that emotional response?
Do you have an hour? That is not an easy thing to answer! I think we've made a lot of strides as a community of women. We're way more supportive of each other, although I think there's still a long way to go. I see what's happening in the world today, how women's rights are being stripped away again, and it's just so disheartening and frustrating. On one hand, we've made all these strides, and we've solidified these things that we thought were never going to be taken away, and just like that, boom, they're being taken away again. I'm still kind of in shock with what's happening, and as an artist, as a woman, as a mother, this was a big part of my challenge, and still is, quite frankly - how do I use my platform? What do I want to say about this? And how do I want to say it? I've got my private conversations and then my public conversations, and I think of music as a bridge and a means to communicate our shared humanity.

I feel music is like medicine for me. If we can continue to stay curious about each other, especially when we disagree. Now, this is my wise mind talking right now, I have my moments of being just absolutely pissed off, and ‘One In A Long Line’ is very indicative of that. Yes, I'm pissed off, but I also recognise that in order to move forward, we have to keep lines of communication open and not just sit in our corners and be vengefully angry about everything. For me, progress is only made when we try and find common ground.

Absolutely, throughout your career you've always been politically charged, but in such a beautiful, feminine way. A soft way, and by doing that, you've created this beautiful environment of strength. Do you see the legacy in that in today's generation, and even as a legacy from Lillith Fair? Do you see a softness and a strength, particularly in our artists?
I do, I see it in a lot of young women. I see them claiming their sexuality, claiming their femininity, claiming however they want to show up, and really owning it. And I'm in awe, I'm in awe of my daughters for their how well they know themselves already, and how they stand up for themselves and for each other. I find that to be really heartening. That was one of the most important things for me with the music school I established, to create an environment, a safe space, where everybody can show up exactly as they are, and it's okay to be vulnerable. It's okay to not know what the answer is, and not be judged so harshly for it. And to have agency, you get to participate in this, you have a voice in this. That's one of the coolest things about this generation, they recognise that they have a voice, and they're using it. And we need them, we need people to shout from the hills!

As far as the legacy of Lilith Fair, I think we shifted a lot of attitudes. A community was created, not only for us as artists, but this understanding of bringing alongside other women, as opposed to us living in a world that was built by men for men, and getting a little sliver of something, because they were so generously handing it to us. No we need to build new systems, and if we get to a position of power, or whatever that looks like, we need to support other women.

That was the basis of Lilith, and that's how I continue to live my life and I see it out in the world. I see younger artists like Brandi Carlisle championing other women, Taylor Swift, having all women open up for her. I've met so many young women who have told me you and the other artists showed me that I could do and be anything I wanted to be, and I'm now running a corporation, and I’m supporting other women, and I'm elevating other women. And, you know, we get shit done, let's be honest! Women work twice as hard as men, so why would you not want to hire women anyway? But don't get me going on that!

Before I leave you, you said at one point you thought Better Broken might be your last album, how are you feeling now?
That was an old statement. That was a statement I made when I was thinking at the very beginning of it, I thought, this will probably be my last record. But having had the experience I just did, absolutely not! I will continue to make music with these guys. It was too much fun not to.

Better Broken is out now via Concord Records. You can buy, download and stream here.
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