Rachael Sage Reimagines An Album Acoustically, And It's Gorgeous
A new release from songstress Rachael Sage is a very unique project that she decided to delve into and, in doing so, delivers an incredibly warm soundscape that features amazing arrangements, cover songs, and a beautifully stripped-down and acoustic, but still very lush approach.
In 2025, Rachael released an album called Canopy, which was also very warm but more plugged in, if you will. The album itself is very full-bodied with gorgeous textures and a lot to say.
With the success of Canopy, Rachael decided she wanted to reimagine the record only acoustically. Unplugged.
The new release is called Under My Canopy, featuring all the songs from the original record, but performed acoustically. The new release has the same level of heart, gorgeous instrumentation and texture to chew on, and personality as the original did, but it has a different aesthetic to it.
Not only does this record have these inviting and even Southern-toned instrumentation like harmonica, full string sections, piano, acoustic guitar, and so much more.
There's something about how the reworks of these songs feel even more cinematic than the originals too.
She's joined by The Senguins on the record, and it's an amazing combination and match made in musical Heaven.
"Just Enough" kicks the record off, and you already have this very well-rounded and character-riddled approach, peppered with brilliant harmonica sections, sort of Plucky guitars, and a rhythm that you fall right into.
These strings that definitely feel like cellos are upright Bass, really fill the empty space with beauty. The thickness of the bowed instruments feel good to listen to and pushes the emotion behind the song further.
Of course, songs like this are certainly not without their pop sensibilities, which she keeps firmly intact throughout the entire record.
"Live It Up" delivers more of that sort of Southern feel, rhythm, and hints of swagger as she performs with a sort of graceful approach, still coated in that pop color, and with a vibrant feel. She's always got this sense of vibrancy in her performances. Yes, there are slower songs with softer vocals, almost to a whisper at times, but she brings that up a lot in doing so, delivering more robust and flavorful tonalities with her voice.
As the album unfolds, you get different parts of not just her personality, but her range of performance. The way she's able to fall into character depending on the song. This gives the air of live performance a lot of the time.
These songs boast moods. It's very easy to fall into them, and it's one of the records I would heavily suggest listening to all the way through from start to finish, in one shot.
About halfway through, she covers one of my favorite songs ever written, to be honest.
"Everyday", originally performed by Buddy Holly, is a song that a lot of people grew up with or hold close to their heart. The song was featured in multiple films, and depending on your age, you should be very familiar with it.
Her cover of the song is brilliant. When you listen to it, you just never pictured the song like that before, but it works amazingly.
It makes you wonder how an artist like Rachael is able to hear that when she listens to the original song. Not only that, but think about it; this is a cover of a cover. She already did this on the Canopy album itself, and now she's doing the acoustic version.
All of this is really well thought out, and I love that she decided to delve into recreating her record so it feels different.
It goes beyond just having an ear for sound. It goes into thinking ahead. Imagining what songs will sound like in a different format.
"Colorized World" is a gorgeous piece that is probably my favorite on the record. This one really speaks volumes for Rachael and how she performs with an almost theatrical tonality when she feels like it.
Now that I think about it, there are more than a handful of songs on this release that feel this way. Some of these are just theatrically delivered. You can see them in the scene of a play. Of course, that has to do with some of the emotion and sentiment behind certain songs like this one, but it also makes them filmic.
The whole record sort of serves as an escape that you can jump into, and if you listen to the entire record in one shot, as I mentioned earlier, it's an unreal experience.
You feel like you've just watched a movie when it's all over. You have to reacclimate yourself back to your own reality once more.
You have to really love records like this one; records that just take you away to someone else's headspace and the multitude of beautiful instrumentation, delivering layer upon layer of tones that complement each other; it's just really incredible throughout this entire thing.
There are times where Rachael uses her voice almost like an instrument itself. The way those tones blend and how the songs feel alive or really, the attributes of the record that you feed into.
This was more than memorable, and I would not only suggest checking it out, but also listening to the original Canopy record afterward so you can hear the differences. It's a lot of fun.
Dig into this release now, and don't forget where you heard it first.
Comments