Track listing: Satellite, Mirage, In Love Alone, Anyway, Stop Me, The Wheel, The Great Divide, Find My Way, Ghost of You, Back to School, Need to Know, Twilight Passage, Shelter Me, Shaken, Here, Belong With You

There's something very 80s and freeing in Kathy Sabol's new release, The Great Divide, particularly in the album's lead-off track "Satellite." The PIttsburgh-based singer/songwriter has a devotional/spiritual-based record label and is working on projects for that during 2025, but The Great Divide pulls its music and lyrics directly from her personal life. With the collection of 16 songs, Sabol "has woven a tale of relationship betrayal and the difficult path towards healing and forgiveness."

The sound is big. Lots of keyboards, synths, and strings laying a broad soundscape of instrumentation upon which she tells her stories. Though this record is not specifically religiously or devotionally directed, there is a kinship of its sound with 80s era artists like Amy Grant and fellow Dove Award winners. There's something inherently wholesome about the sound.

Kathy shares vocal duties throughout the record which brings a variety of narrative styles to her personal tales. And to bring her lyrics to life visually, she's created lyric videos for some of them on her YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@KathySabolMusic. Tracks like "Find My Way" are straight-up duets, with its characters in a full-on dialog a la Brandy and Monica arguing over whether the boy is hers or mine (though Sabol's topics run deeper than teen infatuation).

Sabol's songs are grown-up, no doubt. She tackles emotional and full-on-adulting issues head on. While metaphors convey her messages via "Satellite," "Mirage," and "The Wheel," more often it's the direct approach on The Great Divide. Check out the new album, Kathy's HeartsPsalms projects and more, starting your journey at kathysabolmusic.com. While she admits to not yet being on top of her social media, she's got some content on Facebook and Instagram worthy of your attention, along with her own aforementioned YouTube Channel.