Following the album’s release, k.d. lang toured Europe playing to sold-out crowds and widespread critical acclaim. ‘lang sings exquisitely well. She is every bit the equal of the classic singers of the 1950s and 60s who could sing country, pop and jazz with equal style and conviction,’ wrote the Guardian. ‘One of the great voices to emerge in the last 20 years. Powerful, wide-ranging, with a palette that calls for comparisons outside of her genre,’ proclaimed the Independent On Sunday. ‘Sophisticated, languorous and often brilliant. It makes every other covers album this year sound like a waste of time,’ wrote the Daily Telegraph of the album, where it was ‘CD of the week’. ‘With so many heartbreaking, melting moments, this is obviously one of the albums of the year,’ echoed Attitude.

lang has long been celebrated for her imaginative interpretations. Her fresh takes on country classics - especially on the landmark Shadowland (1988) and the Grammy-winning Absolute Torch And Twang (1989) - were so original and unorthodox that they elicited controversy from country purists, in addition to wide acclaim. On Drag (1997), lang applied her singular style of torch singing to a high-concept album, using smoking as a metaphor to examine the nature of human desire. Most recently, she collaborated with Tony Bennett on a Grammy-winning exploration of American songs. lang is an equally accomplished songwriter, having won vast praise for her self-penned Ingenue (1992) and its follow-up, All You Can Eat (1995).

Hymns Of The 49 th Parallel is lang’s first album for Nonesuch. Label president Robert Hurwitz has expressed deep enthusiasm about the new relationship: “We have always admired, from a distance, the enormous and original talents of k.d. lang. When it became possible that we actually might be able to work with her, we immediately jumped at the opportunity. And to begin this relationship with a record as moving and brilliant as Hymns is more than we could have ever hoped for.” lang has echoed the sentiment, saying, “Nonesuch is, to me, the most exciting roster of artists that exists today, and I’m thrilled to be associated with them.”