Records: Dar Williams' End of the Summer

By Cara Ann Marr

Judging by the success of this summer's all-female Lilith Fair, End of the Summer could not come at a better time. With a low voice backed by gentle guitar lines, Dar Williams fits perfectly into the pantheon of female artists climbing the charts.

Fans of Williams' first two releases, The Honesty Room and Mortal City, might be disappointed by the move away from her characteristic folk-style rock. Williams herself has said, "I knew this was more of a pop/rock album." On songs like the opening two tracks, "Are You Out There" and "Party Generation," Williams speeds up her conversational delivery and accompanies her trademark croon with more than just acoustic guitar. The result is a faster-paced, catchier, and generally more entertaining sound. William's back-up musicians lift the tempo without overpowering the vocals.

Williams does include several folk ballads on End of the Summer, namely the title song and "My Friends." While these songs are prettily arranged, Williams' lyrics feel hollow; she seems to be striving for a deeper meaning which never quite emerges. Yet Williams' recalcitrance may explain her appeal; she reveals just enough to let the listener identify with her. In "If I Wrote You," Williams uncovers her insecurity with the lyrics "If I wrote you / You would know me / And you would not write me again." By leaving herself open to rejection, Williams welcomes the listener into her thoughts.

An intimate track, "What Do You Hear In These Sounds," provides the album's most successful song. In recounting her therapy sessions, Williams combines the best elements of her folk roots and conversational lyric style with her newer pop/rock sound. The lyrics are Williams at her best: self-explorational but not overly serious. Williams even jokes, "When I hit a rut, she says to try the other parent."

While other folk/rock indie heroines (Ani DiFranco, for example) may communicate soulful emotions more convincingly, there is still a place for Williams in the current list of female artists experiencing commercial and critical success. In the lead track "Are You Out There," Williams poses the question "Are you out there, can you hear this?" The answer, Dar, is yes.

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