This could be Dar Williams' best effort yet. Her friends and fans from back in the day might well disagree, since it's also her slickest and most rocking, and old fans tend to get all disgusted when songwriters stop sounding as raw as they did before they learned how to make records. But just listen; where she was clearly working hard to achieve hooks on The Honesty Room, they flow effortlessly here. The eerie radio ode "Are You Out There," a slightly defensive paean to therapy called {&"What Do Y...   [ read more ]

CD $18.02

Dar Williams has succeeded in crafting a number of great songs for her fourth album, The Green World, and the album works on a number of levels. The melodies are memorable, the arrangements are evenly balanced, and the lyrics are well written. Williams kicks things off with "Playing to the Firmament," an uplifting song full of jingly guitars and soaring vocals. The lyric playfully invites one to lose oneself, like a child playing games, in order to get beyond the seriousness of everyday life. {...   [ read more ]

CD $18.02

On the first track of her second album, Dar Williams makes clear her intention to break out of the acoustic singer/songwriter ghetto: "As Cool As I Am" is full-out rock & roll with funky drums and a chorus built on massed choo-choo harmonicas. She doesn't stay in rock mode for long, but the more aggressive approach continues to inform her sound even when she retreats into a more typical acoustic setting. It's interesting to note that as her music gets more consistent, so do her lyrics. Over ...   [ read more ]

CD $18.02