CHERYL WHEELER
Pointing at the Sun
Dias Records 1001
A new Cheryl Wheeler release is always cause for celebration and Pointing at the Sun is true to the formula that’s won her legions of fans: mix a few novelty songs with selected wry commentary, and surround them with heart-achingly beautiful reflections on love, loss, longing, and life. I’m not the biggest fan of recording novelty songs—cats are the foil for three on the new record— as I think it spoils the joke in her concerts, but most Wheeler fans love these, so what the heck? Besides, she needs a bit of comic relief. Wheeler’s never been afraid to ruffle feathers and the title track will dislodge quite a few—it’s Wheeler’s blanket condemnation of religious orthodoxy however imagined. When Wheeler slips at all, it’s when she tries to do too much; the lushly arranged “Summer Fly” comes off as Daniel Lanois Lite and is a much stronger song stripped-down for concert performance. But Wheeler’s at her absolute finest when she goes for the heart instead of the funny bone, head, or new musical turf. “Holding On” and “One Step at a Time” are no-gilded-lily takes on what it takes to how to navigate relationships. As such they are portraits of giddiness and hope framed with anxiety, pain, and perseverance. Like the starkly silhouetted trees that adorn the album cover, these songs get to the essence of reality. The courage to lay bare her deepest emotions is among the things that makes Wheeler one of the gutsiest songwriters of our times.--LV
Pointing at the Sun
Dias Records 1001
A new Cheryl Wheeler release is always cause for celebration and Pointing at the Sun is true to the formula that’s won her legions of fans: mix a few novelty songs with selected wry commentary, and surround them with heart-achingly beautiful reflections on love, loss, longing, and life. I’m not the biggest fan of recording novelty songs—cats are the foil for three on the new record— as I think it spoils the joke in her concerts, but most Wheeler fans love these, so what the heck? Besides, she needs a bit of comic relief. Wheeler’s never been afraid to ruffle feathers and the title track will dislodge quite a few—it’s Wheeler’s blanket condemnation of religious orthodoxy however imagined. When Wheeler slips at all, it’s when she tries to do too much; the lushly arranged “Summer Fly” comes off as Daniel Lanois Lite and is a much stronger song stripped-down for concert performance. But Wheeler’s at her absolute finest when she goes for the heart instead of the funny bone, head, or new musical turf. “Holding On” and “One Step at a Time” are no-gilded-lily takes on what it takes to how to navigate relationships. As such they are portraits of giddiness and hope framed with anxiety, pain, and perseverance. Like the starkly silhouetted trees that adorn the album cover, these songs get to the essence of reality. The courage to lay bare her deepest emotions is among the things that makes Wheeler one of the gutsiest songwriters of our times.--LV
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