Edie Carey & Sarah Sample - Lantern In The Dark: Songs of Comfort and Lullabies (2024) Hi-Res

Released in October 2024 and one that got away in the hustle and bustle of last year. This album is a healing balm in these times of uncertainty and increasingly mounting fear, which saw skilled artists Edie Carey and Sarah Sample come together for a second helping of sweet succour to the soul. Their combined talents are of a standard that guarantees real quality with songs that invite themselves into the heart of the matter and rest in the centre of all that stands as important in our days. The album is a follow up to the 2014 release TIL THE MORNING: Lullabies & Songs of Comfort which proved to be a popular collaboration between the two artists. It was a perfect example of a crowdfunding exercise with many supporters pledging funds in order to achieve the finance required for the recording process. Such trust from the fan base is returned here with lots of love and soul.

Opening song, I’m Here is the perfect introduction into the sense of having safe harbour when everything else is out of control. We all need reassurance in times of struggle and there is a generosity of spirit at play here that runs through the songs. There are a number of cover versions included, with the choices reflecting what resonated most with both Edie and Sarah.

The string arrangement on the Wilco song My Darling is superbly devised and delivered. It appeared on the SUMMERTEETH album of 1998 and is an inspired selection here, full of loving sentiment to a new born child. The Bob Dylan classic To Make You Feel My Love is superbly interpreted with the fiddle of Ryan Sharpe particularly effective. The list of musicians that add their talents to this project is very impressive and too many to list in this review, and the overall production of Scott Wiley is both sensitive and compelling in the gentle touch and delivery of all concerned.

Shine is a song from Sarah and is a reflective look back at the years that see a child leave the family nest and strike out on their own. ‘I looked up and you had grown, Turned around and you had flown.’ Beautifully realised. There is an elegant intimacy in the song All the Ways You Comfort Me, written by Edie, and the sense given of having a safe place to land when all the plates are spinning. It is a real highlight here among many great moments. The cover of Time After Time by Cindi Lauper is interesting in the arrangement even if it could never capture the longing in the original song.

Heaven Now is another example of the superb songwriter that Edie has evolved into, such nuance and subtlety in the creation. Perhaps it should have closed the album, but the final track is a cover of the James Taylor classic You Can Close Your Eyes and it captures the essence of immersing yourself in a sense of community where human connection is the key. We all share in one big group hug that captures the emotion and spirit of this album.