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Dar Williams
My Better Self
(Razor & Tie)
First Appeared in The Music Box, September 2005, Volume 12, #9
Written by John Metzger
Dar Williams always has been more than just a coffeehouse-flavored, indie-folk
artist, but it took until the release of her fifth studio effort The Beauty
of the Rain for her to develop the level of confidence necessary for
creating an album that didn’t feel forced. Her latest outing My Better Self
builds upon her previous successes by broadening the diversity of her sonic
palette while adding a layer of thematic cohesiveness that serves to bind
together the material. Much as its title suggests, the concept for the album
revolves around the idea that love can provide the spark necessary to spur
self-improvement, and by deftly mixing social statements (Teen for God)
with those of a political (Empire) and personal (So Close to My Heart)
nature, Williams keenly makes her point. Augmenting her usual studio band with
members from her touring ensemble and incorporating an array of special guests
that include Ani DiFranco, Soulive, Marshall Crenshaw, and Patty Larkin,
Williams shades her lyrics with a myriad of different textures and subtle
nuances. On Two Sides of the River, for example, she wades into the murky
waters of organ-driven blues, while the beautiful, ethereal fragility of Blue
Light of the Flame is supernaturally supported by its delicately designed
ornamentation. Elsewhere, she pushes Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This is
Nowhere from a bluegrass-tinged march into a buoyant blast of perky pop,
laces Beautiful Enemy with a fervent fury, and couches Teen for God
within a jaunty, country-pop arrangement. Indeed, throughout My Better Self,
Williams delivers her songs with a sense of organically-derived poise, and as a
result, she sounds more engaged — and, hence, is more engaging — than ever. 
My Better Self is available
from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005
The Music Box
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