One of These Sarahs is Not Like the Other | The record got virtually no mainstream airplay, but when Sarah Harmer's You Were Here hit critics' headphones in 2000, the verdict was nearly unanimous: Here was a startlingly accomplished debut record, chock full of wonderfully narrative songs and spiced with a musical bite one rarely hears from introspective singer-songwriters. After hearing a few of Harmer's tunes on WXPN, I bought the CD on the considerable strength of what passed as its lead single, "Basement Apartment." Like all those critics, I fell, and hard, for You Were Here, a welcome respite from the boring, synthetic Britney soundalikes on one end of the female musical spectrum and the precious, sleepy Jewel types on the other.

Who'd have thought that I'd be more excited about Harmer's follow-up than the new record by fellow attractive Canadian songstress Sarah McLachlan? All of Our Names hits stores next month, and I heard the new single, "Almost," earlier this week on, God bless it, 'XPN. I'll need to hear it a few times more to really have a feel for it, but on first listen it sounds pleasant enough. Can't wait to hear the rest of the record.