If you're familiar with traditional poetry, you know about the concept of rhythmical "feet," beat units that underly each line and form the basis of sentence structure. The most famous is the "iamb" because that was what William Shakespeare employed. An "iamb" is simply a two-beat unit: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. For example, the syllables in the word "possess" form an iambic foot. Much of Shakespeare's work, from little sonnets to Hamlet, is composed of lines consisting of five of these iambs in sequence (called "iambic pentameter"). He forced almost everything he wrote to conform to that format.
One of my favorite writing aspects of Sarah McLauchlan's "Possession" is the way she employs musical two-chord "iambs" in the chorus. She includes them not as part of a rigidly uniform rhythm, but the opposite - to break the four-beat time signature almost invisibly. She does it in the most arresting moment of the song, the transition from verse to chorus, under the words "I will be the one," and then again under the key lines of the song, "I'll take your breath away," and finally under "close your eyes." These added two-chord segments take what could've been a much more ordinary chorus and enrich it with moments of disorienting musical confidence. It's not just the rhythmic impact either; these two-chord combos serve as impressive harmonic transitions, leading to immensely more interesting opportunities for cadence and resolution. But most importantly, McLauchlan uses these iambs to emphasize. Listen to those words again.
The verses hold their own with unique, long vocal melodies that traverse a long, shadowy chord sequence. The first verse, performed with much of the band resting, is striking in its unassailable composure. This is a song about self-defense. This is a song that actually achieved that self-defense, if you know anything about the story behind it (hint: go read). It's actually an underrated moment in our consciousness evolution as a culture. Did you realize that?
When the full band takes part in the verses, I appreciate the subtle but excellent strummed electric guitar. The balance between electric and acoustic drums is more subtle skill in the production. The bass guitar is a key player with an active, melodic part. The ambient instruments - organ and other effects - are all essential in the final, etherial effect. It's a beautiful, dark watercolor.
When I was 14, I loved this song so much that I went off to the mall Sam Goody to buy the entire album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. I had the CD in my hand, turned to walk to the checkout... And then I put the album back on the rack, suddenly embarrassed to be seen buying what I considered to be a "girl's album." No, I quickly felt, that wasn't right either. I stood there in that store for 10 minutes, weighing what to do. But I failed. I shied out of the store empty-handed and back on with the rest of my life. I've done many things, made many judgements in awkward, unforeseen moments without the benefits of experience or advice, that I'm proud of. That wasn't one of them.
