Character (Rachael Sage album) – Queen City Sounds and Art

RachaelSage_Character1_crop — Rachael Sage *Character* cover

The title track to Rachael Sage’s 2020 album Character comes in with a mild sense of menace established by strings and distorted guitar and an inquiry about what it means to have character and what goes into establishing that quality with any meaning. The minor chord progression on the guitar is reminiscent of Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and with the violin arcing over the top and giving the song a touch of elegant moodiness. All while Sage’s strong, breathy vocals delve further into the subject and how people can put on what they like to project as character to hide their sharp edges and cruelty and when maybe empathy and sensitivity is more integral to having character than being willing to harm and being what some might think of as being tough but is in the end more like sadism. Maybe character, in this song, is being able to weather the harm and remaining a good person in a real sense rather than in the more performative aspect. A dazzling blend of grittiness, soulfulness and atmosphere, “Character” like the rest of Sage’s record sticks with you long after the song is over. Listen to “Character” no Spotify and follow Sage at the links provided.