[rating=7]
On Ani DiFranco’s latest studio record, ¿Which Side Are You On? (Righteous Babe Records, 2012), songs vacillate between two major topics: politics and love. These come as very little surprise to those who have followed DiFranco through the vast changes in her songwriting approach and personal life over the past twenty years, but on Which Side she adds a new spin to the situation. It’d be misguided to call her calmness and centered-ness newfound, as 2008’s Red Letter Year featured a strong dose of maturity against a delightfully fresh production style, courtesy of partner Mike Napolitano. And in many ways, Which Side is Year’s logical successor in style and form. But as is DiFranco’s wont, that kind of desired linear movement is thwarted by digging into the darker sides of the American political landscape via the lens of feminism. Though, when the album surfaces with glimpses into the harmonious role of love from both husband and daughter, DiFranco audibly softens, lending an important respite from her hard-edged rancor. In the end, though, she’s made a record that, while at times inconsistent and frustrating, continues to affirm her impressive songwriting hand and relevance as America’s leading folk singer.
First track “Life Boat” is a beautiful opener, hushed in its approach but dealing with some fairly heady subjects. DiFranco sings, “Every time I open my mouth I take off my clothes / And I’m raw and frostbitten from being exposed / I got red scabby hands and purple scabby feet / And you can smell me comin’ from halfway down the street,” and while neither self-deprecation nor self-awareness are underused in her lyrics, there is a rawness to this song that feels quite original. The chords are simple, the vocals unadorned and the instrumentation amorphous enough to keep the focus firmly on Ani’s voice, which has become rounder and more silvery in its growth. Gone are the staccatoed hiccups and wide range, but the shape feels more solid and the timbre richer than ever before.
Title track “¿Which Side Are You On?” is an obvious standout on the album. Originally written by Florence Reece in 1931, the song was used to support unions in their struggle for equality and representation, and has been continuously re-worked over the years by legends such as Pete Seeger, The Almanac Singers, Ella Jenkins and Natalie Merchant. DiFranco’s version opens with Pete Seeger’s steely banjo, in hauntingly eerie desolation, before DiFranco launches in with her traditionally fierce guitar. The song builds over verses re-written by Ani, taking to task the major political strifes of 2012, including corporate greed, ecological catastrophe, racism, economic inequality and patriarchal hegemony. It’s one of the most blatant and unyielding songs she’s recorded, but it works in the context of her discography and the folk tradition at large. Napolitano really hits the mark here, incorporating a strong rhythmic section, The Rivertown Kids backing vocals, Seeger’s banjo and the Roots of Music Marching Crusaders, a brass band from New Orleans. Even though it clocks in at six and-a-half minutes, it’s a visceral, potent rabble-rouser of a song that plays to everyone’s strengths and recasts the song in a vigorous new form.
“Splinter” and “Promiscuity” feature some marvelous lyrics that continue DiFranco’s frustration with current cultural paradigms of comfort and sexuality, singing, “Something about this landscape just don’t feel right / Hyper air-conditioned and lit up all night / Like we just gotta see how comfortable comfortable can get / Like we can’t even bring ourselves to sweat.” The latter has a jaunty rhythm that plays well with Mike Dillon’s spirited vibraphone. “Albacore” is a precious and quiet love song chronicling her engagement to Napolitano, but without veering into cloying triteness. And “J” is another politically-charged shot at American government and environmental irresponsibility, centered on the BP oil spill of 2010. But with Ivan Neville’s throbbing bass voice and Anaïs Mitchell’s lovely vocal idiosyncrasies on top of an unorthodox mix of guitar, harpsichord, percussion and harp, it’s a song of import that still maintains a healthy level of fun and whimsy.
It’s tracks 9 and 10 that are the peak of the record, though, and stand up as some of the best material DiFranco’s written thus far. “Hearse” is an eloquently engaging love letter to her husband, and while it’s a ballad, Ani doesn’t fall into the usual traps of asserting the depths of her relationships. Instead, lyrics like “We’ll be pushing up daisies and my crush will just be getting worse / And I will follow you into the next life like a dog chasing after a hearse,” keep the song sounding individual, and the instrumentation couldn’t be more spot on. “Mariachi” is more upbeat, and while less decisively poetic, it’s cadence and production inject a real vibrancy to the track.
What keep ¿Which Side Are You On? from being a superlative record, however, are two tracks and the majority of Napolitano’s characteristic production. “If Yr Not” is a condescending take on aging, stating without nuance or subtlety “If yr not getting happier as you get older then yr fuckin up.” While DiFranco rarely shies away from confronting friction head on, her zeal often backfires when its not done with cunning or cleverness. This is the main problem with “Amendment,” a six and-a-half minute-long piece about feminism that lacks wit and spirit. It shows many of the problems with “in your face” activism, and is a perfect example of DiFranco’s need for editing when she swings too far in this direction. Also, Napolitano could take a few steps back in his approach to producing Ani’s records, as he relies to heavily on atmospheric whirls and buzzes to provide ambience. His production is distracting to many of the songs, and give the record a somewhat murky sound in general.
Even still, despite two tragically exasperating songs and an overall style that leans too heavily on excess, ¿Which Side Are You On? does exhibit many of DiFranco’s strengths and demonstrates that over twenty years into her career, she still has plenty to say. And, for the most part, she knows how to say them well.
