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Ani D. could benefit from 'evolution'
By Amanda Degen
Published:
Thursday, March 27, 2003
It's nice to hear from the title of Ani Difranco's new album that her music is evolving. If the title suggests a change from her blend of guitar-driven gripe lyric vehicles, it would be a welcome change. However, this style can still be found on the album questionably titled "Evolve."
Although DiFranco still remains with her label, Righteous Babe Records, the packaging is a step up from her previous albums, and the moth on the cover seems to be a representation of her growth. Although I enjoyed the album, I wish it were as spectacular as the packaging it came in.
It takes a certain kind of listener to enjoy DiFranco's mellow guitar licks combined with political statements to emphasize how truly left she is. DiFranco's music has never been very main stream, and although this is an effort to move in that direction, it seems to jump back and forth between a modern contemporary rock vibe set by the initial songs, and DiFranco's typical musical style.
'Promised Land' and 'In the Way' start the album, and in these songs DiFranco shows her most change and promise. Although the accompaniment of clarinet, trumpet and flugelhorn tends to overpower the lyrics at times, it also creates a sense of power and intensity that makes the songs interesting and shows growth. It represents proper coffee shop music: fluid and powerful, but still very mellow.
About half of the album sounds this way, and the other half sticks with DiFranco's typical musical style.
Armed with guitar, she goes off on her gripes emphasizing how much we do not seem to know about the world. She is trying to make us aware of our own country and what's wrong with it, but after a few listens, you find yourself skipping to the next track.
The beat is unsteady and DiFranco spends a lot of time demonstrating just how weird she can make her voice sound by constantly singing in varied and inflected forms. 'Serpentine,' a clear example of this, is an overly drawn out political cry that is slow moving and takes too long to get to the point, lasting a whopping ten and a half minutes. You almost long to hear her sing of something positive because every song just seems to be full of anger and sarcasm, as DiFranco is always miserable about this country and its practices.
Many of the songs are drawn out on the album, and you find yourself asking, "Where is this going?"
I understand how important Ani DiFranco is to the up and coming beatnik neo-feminism crowd, proudly displaying her hairy armpits and dread-locked mane, but to the mainstream listener and music buyer, its political lyrics and lack of steady beat will be a turn off. The Ani D admirers will enjoy this album as it is similar to her others, but I know I longed to hear just a bit more of an evolutionary step like the title implies.
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