7/10

Grammy Award winning singer and hometown hero, Ani DiFranco, is releasing her twentienth studio full-length, Red Letter Year, this month. After touring almost continuously for the past two decades, DiFranco has received international success from critics and fans alike for her trademark staccato picking and rapid-fire word-plays. DiFranco’s explicit feminist indie-folk has inspired a cult like following for her annual releases and now at the cusp of her newest album’s release, not even marriage or childbirth seem to be able to slow her down.

Red Letter Year, the latest release from Ani DiFranco, follows from the birth of her daughter, Petah Lucia. So it’s not surprising that the prevalent theme on the album is birth: not simply the birth of Petah, but DiFrancos’s own metaphorical rebirth. The title track warns the listener that much has changed in DiFranco’s life and attempts to represent the changes as part of a grand scheme—“the world is made of one unbroken line.” Indeed, throughout the album, DiFranco stresses this theme of unity: not only with her family, as in “Way Tight,” but with the earth itself, as is illustrated in “The Atom” where DiFranco sings “the smallest unit of matter / uniting bird and rock and tree / and you and me.” It is this expression of belonging that gives Red Letter Year its charm, although there is much that detracts from it.

In a recent interview with Mothering Magazine, DiFranco asserted that childbirth has consolidated her feminism, rather than diluted it. Yet, “Alla This,” the most obvious expression of her feminism on the album lacks the eloquence of her previous endeavours. Rather than come across as a genuine assertion of strength and independence, “Alla This” sounds like the uncensored ramblings of an inflammatory ego. DiFranco sings the chorus “I am many things / made of everything / but I will not be your bank roll / I won’t idle in your drive-thru/ I won’t join your electric slideshow / I got way better places to go.” Although still pressing on this theme of unity, Ani reminds the listener of her independence, yet the defiance of the track comes across as merely an effort to maintain face, rather than a genuine assertion of emancipated femininity. Furthermore, DiFranco’s constant assertion of ‘I…’ undermines what she profoundly conveys elsewhere in the album- the feeling of belonging.

Indeed, most of the political sentiments on Red Letter Year sound glib and shallow. At the end of the title track, DiFranco tags on a verse of spoken-word in which she toys with a tired caricature of George Bush. DiFranco sings “and representing the white race / a man with a monkey for a face / is flying over in a helicopter / whistling Dixie and playing dumb” which sits uncomfortably in a song that anticipates the birth of DiFranco’s daughter and seems irrelevant in the current political climate.

In “The Atom,” DiFranco reprimands science and warns “yes, messing with the atom / is the highest form of blasphemy / whether you’re making weapons / or simple electricity,” which sounds too stupid to be true. A song that adopts fundamentalist Christian rhetoric to lament the progress of science and the ambition of scientists seems extraordinarily shallow for a singer who is lauded for her progressive politics.

Thankfully, politics is not an overwhelming theme of the album. Songs such as “Way Tight,” “Present/Infant,” and “Landing Gear,” where DiFranco sings about her new family, represent the most inspired moments on the album, when DiFranco is at her most profound. It is these moments that give the album its grace and prevent the listener from being alienated by DiFranco’s unsophisticated political expressions.

The eclectic sounds of Red Letter Year also contribute to the album’s worth. DiFranco has played down the staccato rhythms of previous albums and adopted a generally calmer sound, which is most evident on “Star Matter.” DiFranco also indulges in different genres, such as jazz in “Way Tight” and a teasing blues riff in “Smiling Underneath.” Yet, this genre skipping turns sour in “Emancipated Minor,” a funk song with bass backing vocals and sweeping synth-strings, which sounds almost like a 90’s radio jingle.

The album overall seems to contain more layers than many of DiFranco’s previous efforts. It will certainly be interesting for fans to experience how she pulls off the new songs live. Luckily, DiFranco is making a stop back home for a performance at her very own church-turned-venue, Asbury Hall at Babeville, on November 29.

Red Letter Year is touching and grating, heart-felt and contrived, profound and shallow. The political element of the album is very off-putting, yet once one overcomes this very real boundary, the album becomes fulfilling with an important and touching message: have a baby.