Ani Difranco: "Little Plastic Castle"

As a self-professed member of Ani DiFranco's legions of devoted fans, I eagerly awaited the release of her latest album, Little Plastic Castle. Having already heard bootlegs of some of the songs on it, I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong.

With her grassroots background and fear of major record labels, Ani's fame came from word of mouth and constant touring rather than radio play. Under her independent label, Righteous Babe Records, Ani retains tight creative control over her work. Her characteristic style is to let her tremulously powerful voice and intelligent lyrics lead subversive guitar and drum accompaniments. Little Plastic Castle, however, marks a distinct change of style.

Even the album cover shows it. The garish neon colors and playful image of Ani's face morphed onto a goldfish's body are a far cry from the somber hues and subdued silhouettes of Ani's previous nine albums.

Musically, her change in style is obvious one minute into the album, which opens with the title track. The song deceptively opens in Ani's standard sound, with just her voice and her guitar. It abruptly breaks away from the standard expectations, however, with the sudden introduction of a brass trio and a ska-like beat. Ani's voice loses its introspectiveness and surrenders itself to the infectiously upbeat rhythm.

This tone continues in the next track, one of Ani's characteristic "rants." Yet whereas Ani used to perform this type of song sotto voce and purely a cappella, "Fuel" contains the same tinges of ska as the title track, using words as a percussive counterpoint to the syncopation of the background guitars and drums. This new sound culminates with "Deep Dish." Using a brass trio and throwing her voice into funky rhythms, Ani toys with the listener, at first sharing her observations but then suddenly withdrawing with the lyrics "oh, look, I have to go." Such obliqueness from the normally communicative singer is frustrating.

"Loom" and "As Is" sound more like standard Ani. "As Is," with its message of complete acceptance, is arguably Ani's first real love song. Similarly, "Pulse" is a song of total sacrifice for another. The song's 14-minute length gives it a pulsing, hypnotic quality, but ultimately detracts from its effectiveness.

On "Fuel," Ani complains about the monotony of current music: "Maybe I should put a bucket over my head/ and a marshmallow in each ear/ and stumble around for another dumb numb week/ for another hum drum hit song to appear." Clearly, Little Plastic Castle is her attempt to create a new sound and break away from her fans' expectations. In doing so, however, Ani creates a mix of sounds that eclipses what her followers love so much--her insightful and cathartic lyrics. (Righteous Babe)

--Cara Marr

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