Surfacing was released as the first Lilith Fair tour hit the road, and Sarah McLachlan benefited enormously from the timing. As the organizer of Lilith Fair, McLachlan was on the cover of magazines across America and Canada, which helped Surfacing debut at number two on the U.S. charts -- a particularly remarkable feat since its predecessor, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, peaked at number 50. Although Surfacing didn't offer anything new from McLachlan and wasn't a particularly strong consolidation of her talents, it certainly wasn't a bad record and featured several fine songs, including the single "Building a Mystery." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
