New Zealand songwriting sensation Brooke Fraser, now arguably better known now by her married name, Brooke Ligertwood, released her debut album What to Do with Daylight in 2003.
Signed to a record label in connection with Sony Music, her career skyrocketed quickly, notably accompanied by her involvement in the worship music scene via Australia-based church, Hillsong. Her artistic focus for years now seems to have settled into a similar worship scene, but behind her is a profound body of work crossing many stunning albums.
While still evidently youthful—Fraser was only 20 at the time of her first album’s release—deeply felt human themes and the beginning of a religious sensibility dominate the songs, making for a rich listening experience via her distinctive voice and visceral, poetic lyrics.
To my mind, she is the par excellence example of a Christian integrating a lived faith into artistic expression. Although she also excels at her directly religious work—integrating biblical passages poetically into song—I find her work in the mainstream category most compelling.
While What to do With Daylight is not her strongest work, this underlines her excellence rather than diminishing it: the quality of her work only increases as the years progress along with her own personal and artistic maturation. In the meantime, her youthful songs at this stage are heartfelt, sincere, catchy, and encapsulate authentic human experience. They are not cheap.
In fact, the album’s particular charm is precisely in Fraser’s unashamed, simple vulnerability rather than trying to be more than she is. She captures the sweetness and lack of guardedness in youth.
In the lyrics Arithmetic, we this sweetness and charm in her articulation of innocent affection which hints at the permanent and divine alongside a perhaps more human love:
I won’t find what I am looking for
If I only see by keeping score
‘Cause I know now you are so much more than arithmetic
If I add, if I subtract
If I give it all, try to take some back
I’ve forgotten the freedom that comes from the fact
That you are the one I want
She also explores the complexity of dealing with the stubborn brokenness of someone in her life in Better—“I would give anything to make you better..”—as well as the intense drive in youth to have extreme impact in Saving the World:
And while we’re waiting we could try saving the world
Or are we storing that up for a rainy day?
I’m anticipating the time when it’ll be my turn
It could be fun to try
I think that I’ll save the world as a fun afternoon activity
It’s no surprise that due to the success of this first album, Fraser would go on to create several other studio albums and successfully tour the world on her own merit.
For a new listener, What to do With Daylight is a great place to start.
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