Sara Groves

Just when you think you can’t say enough good things about an artist as talented and lovely as Sara Groves, she comes through again with Fireflies and Songs. With her softly lilting voice and piano backing, she woos the listener into a fresh calm as she opens up with her most personal album to date. (The song “Different Kinds of Happy” track begins with an invitation to “Ask (her) anything.”)  Lately her albums have tended towards her comments on the outside world.  But with this one, we’re privileged to get a glimpse into her own world, one of family and hope and struggles and dreams.  From her childhood to her current life, it feels like we’re truly meeting Sara Groves for the first time, and this is one of those albums that deserves an hour sitting on the couch, doing nothing but closing your eyes and listening.  It’s that good. 

The title track opens the album with a sweet look back on the beginning of a romance, where two people are drawn together “in ways (they) can’t explain”. We watch their nervousness and fights and excitement, until they’re “standing in the kitchen/ all pretense is gone.” He kisses her shoulder, and it begins.

“From This One Place,” with it’s soft piano-driven melodies, investigates darker moments in life that suddenly become infused with hope, when she admits “I was about give up and that’s no lie”.  But a bird in her window takes her back to childhood memories, and therein lies a fresh perspective for her.  Even though at this moment, she’s “square in the dark”, she reminds herself that God can always see further, and that there will be a future there waiting for her.  

“Twice as Good” is absolutely one of the standout tracks here, a faster-paced song exploring the joys of a dear friend by your side. You can hear Sara Groves smiling as she’s singing, “Every burden I have carried/ Every joy is understood/ Life with you is half as hard and twice as good/ With my good news, you’re dancing on the table/ Babies born/The celebration/ The joy of life… shared with you.”  And you’re going to need that celebration before the next song, “It’s Me.”

“It’s Me” brings us face to face with a husband and wife fighting mercilessly, where “Weather came and caught us off our guard/ We were just laughing and feeling alright… We walked into a minefield undetected/ You took a tone and I took offense/ Anger replacing all common sense.”  There’s such a sense of desperation, sorrow and anger that the song is almost difficult to listen to.  Groves ends the song just saying, “It’s me/ Oh baby It’s me… Come back to me.” It’s a quiet reminder that even in the midst of their deepest and angriest fights, they’re still the same people they fell in love with, and that they’re worth fighting for, not against. 

Over the next few songs, we see smaller snippets of her life.  With “This House,” we revisit a moment in Sara Groves’ childhood, as she walks through a house full of her memories.  “Love” takes a moment to remember when she realized what real love was.  “Like a Lake” finds her simply resting in God as he pulls her into his heart, fighting against all the “…hurt and preservation/ Like a tendril ‘round (her) soul,” inviting her to lay her heart open and rest. 

The album wraps up with “Joy Is In Our Hearts,” the one song on the album that steers away from her personal life. Instead, we find her celebrating the joy she’s found in God’s heart. 

Truly, I can’t say this strongly enough – go get this album! It is incredibly worth it.

Tagged as: Fireflies and Songs, Sara Groves

↓ One comment

#1 Scott Stephenson on November 28th, 2009 at 8:43 pm

I agree with your comments and I would add one more.
Finally, Sara is going with the kind of production that is appropriate to her material. Too much of her earlier material is “overproduced.” The current album is simple (no whale noises, no synthesizer riffs)and matched to the “vibe” of the song. Just a piano and little more for personal songs; a folk/country ensemble for something like “Setting Up the Pins.” Kudos to Sara and kudos to the producer.

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