Ani DiFranco has suffered two break-ups lately: the first with Andy Gilchrist, her husband since 1998, and the second with America. Her latest album, “Evolve,” details each of these relationships and gives her listeners stories and philosophies for both.
DiFranco plays with a full jazz brass band again on this album, but the band plays with a more diverse vocabulary this time — less pure jazz, more infusion, salsa and even a little bit of klezmer.
The second track on the album, “In the Way,” is a fast-paced, funk song that begins with the line “No you didn’t just leave/ I actually kicked you out.”
The fun feeling the music creates adds an interesting twist to the somber story she tells. “Icarus” is full of grungy slide guitar and the klezmer side of the band. DiFranco winds through this tune with slightly tangential philosophies about nature and God while trying to reason with her lover about their now-defunct status.
Not every song is a fare-thee-well to a lost love. The title track to the album is a solo venture, just DiFranco and her guitar, like the old days. Once again, DiFranco discusses nature and the higher power, but less introspectively. She discusses her place in the grand scheme of things, “I’m becoming transfixed with nature and my part in it/ Which I believe just signifies I’m finally waking up.”
DiFranco is also a political writer and though she has a tendency to be slightly self-righteous, she takes a sarcastic stab at the government when she says, “Let’s all go to war/ And get some bang for our buck.”
In another more aggressive political tirade, “Serpentine,” DiFranco smoothly rants, “The goons have gone global/ And the CEOs are shredding files/ And democrans and the republicrats are flashing their toothy smiles.”
DiFranco treats us to a well-substantiated attack on American pro-war, pro-money values in this intense 10 and a half-minute song.
“Here for Now” has a sinister intro that leads into a salsa tune driven by her signature manic guitar playing and her fabulous brass band. This is the first salsa style song to appear on a studio album; but this record is home to another startling first. “Evolve” also gives us our first taste of DiFranco as a piano player in “O My My.” Her playing is choppy but clean, and she pulls it off.
There are a few low points to the album. Some of her lyrics lean to the trite side, and the band has a tendency toward a looser, less uniform sound. These loose voicings work in her favor occasionally, but for the most part it just sounds sloppy.
This album is more mellow than expected. Mostly DiFranco does not disappoint as her lyrics are more eloquent and articulate than ever and her playing and melodies are superb.