Sarah Darling seems to be operating on so many fronts at present that it is very hard to keep up. Her appearance at the Long Road Festival 15 months ago unleashed a lot of new material yet to see the light of day, then there is her excellent work with the Six One Five Collective and now out of the blue, there are 2 songs with #TEAMw21 favourites Jenn Bostic & Emily Shackelton and talk of completing a new album.
The first you can't help but feel is a response to recent world events, came with the message "I pray this song finds the ears that need to hear it". It is a piano ballad with Sarah laying down her sweetest of vocals as she tries to help us make sense of what can seem like senseless times, wherever you look in the world. It is too trite to suggest that a song can change anything, otherwise we would have fed the world or given peace a chance, however if this four minute tune brings solace to someone then it will more than have done it's job.
"When your heart's all a mess
Beating heart in your chest
And you feel that all hope is gone
Just look to the sky
And it's beautiful light
Think of the ones that you loved
When your dreams turn to fails
And you're fighting like hell
And all that you want is a win"
The chorus seeks to offer a semblance of hope that things will get better
"Oh, don't let
This world break your heart
Even when it tries to
You're gonna find a way through"
There are strings, backing vocals and a piano that tugs at the heartstrings, that all go to make this a momentary shining light in the gloom.
The second song is almost a lullaby version of the Bob Marley classic "Three Little Birds", so soothing is the recording. It sees our three little Country songbirds gather around a microphone with their guitars to lay down the simplest of versions.
The moments when all three sing together are simply divine. There are no additional instruments or studio trickery - it just is exactly as outlined - 3 voices and three guitars.
"Don't worry about a thing
Cos every little thing is gonna be alright"
The final line is gently repeated three times as if making sure you've safely drifted to sleep with pleasant thoughts in your mind.