Rachael Yamagata has had nine years to process the torrent of sorrow and uncertainty she funneled into Starlit Alchemy (Jullian). On her first album since 2016’s Tightrope Walker, the seasoned singer/songwriter comes to us a changed woman—at times, a woman still in the throes of transformation, her distinctive voice leading the way. Now 17 years removed from the major-label dance and managing her own affairs from her home base in New York’s Hudson Valley, Yamagata is reveling in both her independence and her roots.
“My mother’s side of my heritage has lived in the mountains of Woodstock. N.Y., for over 100 years,” says Yamagata, who was born in Arlington, Va.
Bankrolled by Yamagata’s international tours, Starlit Alchemy was mostly tracked at her home studio between 2022 and 2024. The album began as a compulsive, stream-of-consciousness narrative before morphing into a “mini movie soundtrack … with linking interludes.” Meticulously sequenced and sonically immersive, the end result is a cohesive 11-song body of work “meant to be heard in full.”
Over the two-year course of the Starlit Alchemy sessions, Yamagata had the help and support of longtime collaborators John Alagia (Lukas Nelson, Paul Simon, Dave Matthews), Jeff Lipstein (Mercury Rev, Clem Snide), Pete Hanlon, Sandy Bell and others. Through it all, she grappled with hearing issues and TMJ.
“During that span, every one of us experienced a loss or near loss—one lost a mother, one a son, one a spouse and all of us friends,” says Yamagata, who coped with the death of a mentor, a close friend and two longtime “superfans” during that timeframe.
Words are a precious commodity to Yamagata—and she uses them sparingly—but effectively—in her rundown of Starlit Alchemy.
—Hobart Rowland
1) “Backwards”
“The ache of splitting paths when you know this will be a solo journey. All that I am is slowly turning, and now you’re not in front of me.”
2) “Birds”
“Reading the signs of those that have passed. I’m still here.”
3) “Carnival”
“The phoenix starting its own fire. I’m no longer a willing player/I’m throwing the game.”
4) “Heaven Help”
“A plea while in the thick of rock bottom. Whatcha gonna say to me so far down below/And what if I’m not listening.”
5) “Empty Houses”
“Grief vignettes of change and the underscoring of this precious life. All of our best-laid plans falling through like water in our hands.”
6) “Galaxy”
“My role, our galactic tie, frequency, remembering. We are holding a power we don’t yet understand.”
7) “Blue Jay”
“Collateral damage of the solo journey. I’m sorry friend … I saw you.”
8) “Jesse”
“A tribute.”
9) “Somebody Like Me”
“Ego battles faith. Most days I’m OK … but every now and then.”
10) “Hurt”
“You know they can feel you leaving. How do you find solid ground looking to somebody else?”
11) “Reprise”
“A bookend call to the stars for guidance on the next part of the journey. Moon, if you can hear me, send a silvery beam/A starlit dream for all of us to cling to.”
See Rachel Yamagata live.
