There's both good news and good news about the Indigo Girls' latest release, "Shaming of the Sun." The good news is that it's much more experimental than their five previous studio releases, leading to a much richer and more creative sound. The good news is that it's still the solid, deep, and touching Indigo Girls that we've come to know and love.
The album is definitely more rock-oriented than their other works. The girls hint towards this with the hard hitting ending of "Touch Me Fall," and the drum driven "Least Complicated," off of 1994's "Swamp Ophelia."
On "Shaming of the Sun," however, the trend is brought to an entirely new level. The album is, for the most part, faster, heavier and more energetic than any of their previous works.
The album's opening track, "Shame on You," clearly sets the tone for the entire disc -- a tone that defines the disk as more "rockish" than their previous attempts. It opens with Amy Ray's acoustic guitar belting out a very driven, classic rock style sound.
As for most of the album, however, the track is much more expansive and touches many more styles than the opening would indicate. Moments after being drawn in by the catchy introduction, the melody is introduced, as catchy and solid as "Galileo." Soon it is supported by Sara Lee on bass and Jerry Marotta on drums, both of whom play a much more modern-rock-oriented feel.
Then Ray's partner in crime, Emily Saliers, adds her banjo work, which somehow not only fits the guitar dominated song perfectly, but adds to it immensely. Later on, it even becomes the focal part of the song, giving it a "down home" kind of feel.
Ultimately, as with any Indigo Girls' song, the vocals are what really bring it all together. The chorus is incredible, and the harmonies are as tight and appropriate as they have ever produced. When all is said and done, the chorus to "Shame On You" sticks in one's head as much as their hit "Closer to Fine" ever could.
Finally, the lyrics on this song, as on the whole album, are some of the duo's strongest to date. They still deliver their abstract truths on life and love, which always seem to be incredibly moving and profound, but miraculously unpretentious.
At the same time, however, the album's lyrics take on a more concrete, character-oriented and political kind of tone.
The track to follow, "Get Out the Map," may be the album's strongest.
It offers the same staple combination of old and new as the song before, but is even stronger in its feeling.
"Get Out the Map" also reintroduces the cute, childlike spontaneous charm that the Indigo Girls have shown on early songs like "Airplane."
The chorus, reading "Get out the map and lay your finger anywhere down/We'll leave the figuring to those we pass on our way out of town/Don't drink the water, there seems to be something ailing everyone/I'm gonna clear my head/I'm gonna drink that sun/I'm gonna love you good and strong while our love is good and young," is characteristic of the song's playful spirit.
Other tunes, such as "Shed Your Skin," go even further in the experimental direction. In particular, "Shed Your Skin" is heavy, aggressive, distorted and dissonant.
Somehow, it manages to be as groovy and catchy as the rest of the album.
In particular, the rhythm section is extremely creative in their parts, Lee's feel on the song plays with its rhythmic sensibility the whole way through, and provides a powerful counterpoint to the guitar work.
"Shaming of the Sun" has plenty of other highlights which mix the traditional style of the band with new ideas.
"Caramia" is the most textured song; it explodes with a beautiful string section by the end, and the sound is incredibly full.
"It's Alright" is an amazing straight ahead rock tune, with a great melody, a dancing beat and well-written lyrics.
Finally, "Leeds" is a gorgeous and touching piano based ballad, and the chord changes are unforgettable.
End result: this one is definitely worth picking up. Those who have always been Indigo Girls fans will not be disappointed. But even non-fans are likely to enjoy this latest attempt.
