THE CD: “My Better Self” (Domino) (Razor and Tie Records)
PERFORMER: Dar Williams

It’s unfortunate that so many indie female singer/songwriters are compared with folk juggernaut Ani Difranco. Difranco puts out about a million albums a year, designs her own covers and tours so much that random strangers ask her for directions to the nearest gas station. All of this makes it difficult for other very talented independent female songwriters to get as much notice as they deserve.

Dar Williams is a startling songwriter and storyteller. Album after album, she has offered up catchy songs filled with wry and intelligent lyrics about everyday life that are never ordinary. Her latest, “My Better Self,” is yet another fine collection that glides through the human experience with songs touching on everything from anger and longing to spiritual evolution and political disenfranchisement.

In what might be considered either a novelty or an instant classic, Williams tackles Pink Floyd’s song of human disconnection “Comfortably Numb” and turns it into a tortured cry of political angst. The Righteous Babe herself rides shotgun on this one, sitting in the place of guitarist David Gilmour with a take on the song that is chillingly bleak and foreboding.

This may be Williams’ most overtly political album to date.

“My Better Self” is a remarkable album by one of the best indie songwriters out there.

—By Bill Lynch

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