For someone who has built a career on songs documenting the trials and hardships of day-to-day life, Ani DiFranco, in her latest release Red Letter Year, preaches a new concept entirely: contentment. Don't be mistaken - many of the elements that have worked to earn DiFranco a dedicated folk-rock fan base are still readily apparent throughout the album; the subject matter still touches on social and political themes, and the lyrics are still largely autobiographical. Yet the changes that DiFranco has recently experienced in her own life - foremost motherhood - shine through Red Letter Year with unquestionable clarity.
DiFranco is known among fans for her extensive back catalogue, having released nearly an album a year since the foundation of her own record label, Righteous Babe Records, in 1990. More than anything, Red Letter Year distinguishes itself from the pack through its sound, making it unlike any album DiFranco has released before. At times sounding like a paranormal orchestra ("Smiling Underneath," "Round a Pole"), at others like the inside of a jazz club ("Red Letter Year Reprise"), and at others still like a folk-disco ("Emancipated Minor"), DiFranco's unusual sound may well be the result of her new band. Often subduing her acoustic guitar - the foundation her music has been built upon for nearly two decades - in favor of vibraphones, trumpets, and strings, DiFranco achieves a voice that, for all its experimentation, ultimately stays true to her folk-rock roots. Red Letter Year also sees Mike Napolitano, DiFranco's partner, as the co-producer of the album, creating an atmosphere that is both quietly hopeful and oddly uplifting.
The songwriting on Red Letter Year reflects DiFranco's current position in life: Introspective, heartening, and calm, her lyrics boast the ideas of love and life over dissatisfaction. In "Smiling Underneath," DiFranco proudly proclaims, "Don't mind my gums peeling back / Or my hair gettin' thin, / Long as I'm with you I win." Inspiration is also drawn from the idea of family. DiFranco, who recently became a mother, has allowed this personal event to permeate the themes of Red Letter Year, most apparent in the song "Infant/Present," where DiFranco states, "But now here's this tiny baby / And they say she looks just like me / And she is smiling at me."
Red Letter Year captures a slower, more relaxed Ani than any album before. Although the album is not without political and social commentary, the overall impression is contented, celebrating life rather than decrying its faults. B
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