Ani DiFranco – Red Letter Year

Red Letter Year – Ani DiFranco

by Aidan Roberts

“Someone fashion me a pulpit / I have been summoned to engage / with the maniacal heretics of the nuclear age…” You have to love Ani DiFranco’s audacity. Having made a career of a no-compromises policy, like a fine wine her art has slowly aged into a complex and beautiful beast; she has journeyed from hot-blooded reactionist folkie to a mature songstress of musical prowess and lyrical potency. She returns now from her last album, the stunningly spare Reprieve, with a new band and new sound. It’s a colourful and lively record, full of energy, love and affronting self-examination. Co-produced by her partner Mike Napolitano, the musical palette is intricate and polished, which in all honesty is slightly ill-matched with the nakedness that makes DiFranco’s songs so affecting. The material is intact, with the meandering, soapboxing The Atom and touching, motherly Way Tight. Title track Red Letter Year sets the universal tone very clearly, hope and expansion blending with lip-biting cynicism. If it weren’t for the distractingly complex arrangements, this would really resonate. Even so, when Ani sings, you sit up and listen, every time.

***1/2