Watershed (2 Compact Discs)

k.d. lang’s acclaimed 2008 Nonesuch album, Watershed, was the first album of newly written material from lang since 2000’s Invincible Summer and her first studio album since 2004’s Canadian songbook, Hymns of the 49th Parallel. The Times of London declared it “a masterpiece.”

As the title suggests, Watershed represented a milestone in k.d. lang’s groundbreaking career. For the first time, she assumed the role of producer—as well as writer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist—for this album of eleven new songs. lang reunited with longtime collaborators from both the studio and the road on the album: pianist Teddy Borowiecki, bassist David Piltch, steel player Greg Leisz, and guitarist Ben Mink. Jon Hassell makes a guest appearance on trumpet, as does Punch Brothers banjo player Noam Pikelny.

Following her previous albums, Watershed is a much more personal look at k.d. lang and where she found herself at the time. Featuring plenty of musical and lyrical intimations of how she got here, lang explained then that “Watershed is like a culmination of everything I’ve done—there’s a little bit of jazz, a little country, a little of the Ingénue sound, a little Brazilian touch. It really feels like the way I hear music, this mash-up of genres, and I think it reflects all the styles that have preceded this in my catalogue. I didn’t feel the need to be genre-specific because this experience felt so wide open.”