The Awakening is Etheridge’s first album since releasing her Greatest Hits in 2005 and her 10th album overall. Etheridge, who came out publicly in January 1993, is best known for impassioned songs about unrequited love. Fans of classic Etheridge tunes like Come to My Window and I Want to Come Over, however, will find little of the vocal furore of desperate longing on this album. Instead, an older and more settled Etheridge reserves her passion for the political. On California, Etheridge’s sings in her trademark style of longing for a place of freedom rather than an unattainable woman and alludes to Etheridge’s place as the queen of lesbian rock. The other standout political anthem, The Kingdom of Heaven moves away from vocals overflowing with emotion for pensive lyrics, but the power of the message is the same. The rest of the album consists of Hallmark worthy lesbian love songs, such as I’ve Loved You Before (a song about loving in past lives) and the rather bizarre bootscootin’ tune Threesome.