Rachael Yamagata has had 9 years to course of the torrent of sorrow and uncertainty she funneled into Starlit Alchemy (Jullian). On her first album since 2016’s Tightrope Walker, the seasoned singer/songwriter involves us a modified girl—at occasions, a lady nonetheless within the throes of transformation, her distinctive voice main the best way. Now 17 years faraway from the major-label dance and managing her personal affairs from her house base in New York’s Hudson Valley, Yamagata is reveling in each her independence and her roots.
“My mom’s aspect of my heritage has lived within the mountains of Woodstock. N.Y., for over 100 years,” says Yamagata, who was born in Arlington, Va.
Bankrolled by Yamagata’s worldwide excursions, Starlit Alchemy was principally tracked at her house studio between 2022 and 2024. The album started as a compulsive, stream-of-consciousness narrative earlier than morphing right into a “mini film soundtrack … with linking interludes.” Meticulously sequenced and sonically immersive, the tip result’s a cohesive 11-song physique of labor “meant to be heard in full.”
Over the two-year course of the Starlit Alchemy periods, Yamagata had the assistance and help of longtime collaborators John Alagia (Lukas Nelson, Paul Simon, Dave Matthews), Jeff Lipstein (Mercury Rev, Clem Snide), Pete Hanlon, Sandy Bell and others. By way of all of it, she grappled with listening to points and TMJ.
“Throughout that span, each one in all us skilled a loss or close to loss—one misplaced a mom, one a son, one a partner and all of us mates,” says Yamagata, who coped with the demise of a mentor, an in depth pal and two longtime “superfans” throughout that timeframe.
Phrases are a valuable commodity to Yamagata—and he or she makes use of them sparingly—however successfully—in her rundown of Starlit Alchemy.
—Hobart Rowland
1) “Backwards”
“The ache of splitting paths when you realize this shall be a solo journey. All that I’m is slowly turning, and now you’re not in entrance of me.”
2) “Birds”
“Studying the indicators of those who have handed. I’m nonetheless right here.”
3) “Carnival”
“The phoenix beginning its personal fireplace. I’m not a prepared participant/I’m throwing the sport.”
4) “Heaven Assist”
“A plea whereas within the thick of all-time low. Whatcha gonna say to me thus far down beneath/And what if I’m not listening.”
5) “Empty Homes”
“Grief vignettes of change and the underscoring of this valuable life. All of our best-laid plans falling via like water in our palms.”
6) “Galaxy”
“My function, our galactic tie, frequency, remembering. We’re holding an influence we don’t but perceive.”
7) “Blue Jay”
“Collateral harm of the solo journey. I’m sorry pal … I noticed you.”
8) “Jesse”
“A tribute.”
9) “Any individual Like Me”
“Ego battles religion. Most days I’m OK … however from time to time.”
10) “Damage”
“You understand they’ll really feel you leaving. How do you discover stable floor seeking to any individual else?”
11) “Reprise”
“A bookend name to the celebrities for steering on the subsequent a part of the journey. Moon, when you can hear me, ship a silvery beam/A starlit dream for all of us to cling to.”
See Rachel Yamagata dwell.
