SARI LIGHTMAN - The Way I Saw You

Ghost Bees, Tasseomancy, Lightman Sisters: sisters Romy and Sari Lightman have often reinvented themselves while remaining true to an experimental folk sound, poised between visions and darkness. In recent times, the two singer-songwriters have collaborated with artists such as Austra and Jennifer Castle, and now the time has come for a new artistic mutation, coinciding with Sari Lightman's first solo effort.
The adventurous sounds of her previous experiences now give way to a folk vein with primitive traits, in which the author draws on those lofty, simple and effective structures that inspired Joni Mitchell, Bridget St John or her contemporaries Adrianne Lenker and Laura Marling. Behind Sari Lightman's solo debut lies a long artistic journey that saw the Canadian singer-songwriter rework folk music with ethereal, experimental tones, tapping into the austere sensibility of Josephine Foster and the psychedelic languor of Marissa Nadler.

"The Way I Saw You" is a captivating work, almost diaphanous in its fragile unfolding: a collection of songs as delicate as a flower, intimate and poetic yet rarely languid, pleasantly contemplative in the manner of an ambient-country record. Lightman skillfully navigates the obvious reference points without ever falling into the trap of nostalgia: the songs are as personal as they are original, intense and finely cultured, free of the stereotypes found in much contemporary singer-songwriter fare. Within their fluid, dreamlike lightness and grace, there is room and time for a series of imagined dialogues with female figures of considerable cultural and social weight.
The discursive nature of the lyrics is sealed by harmonies and melodies that unfold in unconventional, flowing forms, free of the clichés more typical of pop than of traditional music; in "Rose Is In Greece," however, the author embraces a sing-song tone that briefly loosens the record's poetic mood, like a promise left there for future memory, meant for the boldest listeners.

In this succession of fleeting yet vital portraits, Sari Lightman sketches melodies steeped in an essential romanticism (the title track) and opens the door to unexpected jazz-blues influences ("Etty"), in a process of rarefaction that becomes evanescent and spiritual in the austere "Give It All Up" and in the equally faint ambient-folk of "Soon Came The Evening".
Mysticism and philosophy remain at the heart of the lyrics, which pay tribute to figures little known to the wider public (the Jewish intellectual Etty Hillesum, who died at Auschwitz; the singing nun Soeur Sourire; the writer Eve Babitz; and also the singer-songwriter Anne Briggs), with songs marked by lofty, tormented tones ("Day Of The Just Cause"), phrases whispered with ethereal sweetness ("Girl Bitten By A Lizard") and an unexpectedly harsh, scorching folk ("The Prize").

One final note on the various guest artists involved: Meg Duffy (Hand Habits, Perfume Genius) on production; Philip Weinrobe (Adrianne Lenker, Florist) on mixing; Pat Kelly (Perfume Genius, St. Vincent) on bass; Aaron Otheim (Mega Bog) on keyboards; Jesse Quebbeman-Turley (Buck Meek, Cherry Glazerr) on percussion; and Evan Cartwright ( U.S. Girls) on drums.

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14/08/2026