It has been fifteen years since I was first introduced to the Indigo Girls through their Rites of Passage and Swamp Ophelia albums, and in those fifteen years, I have come to accept that they will never make another album like those two. The moods of those two albums were warm and resonant, kind of like being nestled inside of a finely crafted acoustic guitar. They sang with tight harmonies, and the lyrics were fresh and new.
Fifteen years, and both the band and I have grown and changed. Now they write about love and relationships from middle-aged experience instead of the fiery passions of youth. The outrage and call to action that fueled many of their early songs is still there, but more likely to be delivered with a road-worn weariness and a touch of pessimism. As for me, I've learned to approach each new album as if it's not coming from the band that provided the soundtrack to my college years, but is instead some new creature as yet unknown to me.
It was with that approach that I, after hesitating for several weeks, finally listened to the advance release of the new album, Poseidon and the Bitter Bug. Prognosis: it's not as bad as my inner fangirl was afraid it would be.
That's not exactly high praise, but frankly, after the comments Emily Saliers made during a live show I saw last year, and how unimpressed I was by the two new songs they performed in the set, I was afraid we'd get another over-produced, disjointed album like Shaming of the Sun. Pre-release press and comments from the band indicated that they planned to do two versions: one with a full band, and one acoustic with just the two of them singing and playing guitar or piano. Purportedly, this was to appease fans who have been disappointed with how the songs transitioned from the duo version commonly heard live to the band version on the recordings.
Surprisingly, the band version of Poseidon is not a full-on pop/rock fest like their last release, Despite Our Differences. There are a few tracks that are clearly geared towards being radio-friendly singles ("Love of Our Lives," "What Are You Like," and "Ghost of the Gang"), but for the most part, the band sticks with more minimalist arrangements that highlight the work they have put into crafting these songs.
Article comments
1 - greg d
"I have come to accept that they will never make another album like those two." ... Oy .... Too many critics have prejudged this band. They've locked it and its sounds in their angst-ridden teenage past. But the Indigo Girls have grown up and their music and lyrics have matured. It is time for some listeners to get out those Q-Tips, clean out that self-absorbing nostalgic ear gunk, and listen anew to this wonderful album.
2 - Anna Creech
Greg: That's what I was trying to say there. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.
3 - greg d
Anna: I enjoyed your review. Your honest ambivalence regarding the development of the IG's music is refreshing but reminiscent of those who trembled at the notion of an electric Dylan. Pigeonholing and mail slotting makes life both easier and dreadfully dull. "Despite our Differences," I'm pretty sure we can agree on that.
4 - Anna Creech
Greg: I direct you to this sentence, which I hope will clarify that I am not trying to pidgeonhole the Indigo Girls' music, and I am interested in seeing where they take their music*: "As for me, I've learned to approach each new album as if it's not coming from the band that provided the soundtrack to my college years, but is instead some new creature as yet unknown to me."
*Provided, of course, that it doesn't suck. And honestly? Over the years, they have recorded quite a few arrangements that suck.
5 - David
Anna:
My wife also noticed the similarity between True Romantic and Creep. She played it for me and I started singing the Creep chorus too.
6 - Eric
Thanks for the review. One question, though. What were the comments that Emily made on stage that you refer to in your review? Perhaps you wrote about them earlier?? Thanks!
7 - Max Jennings
I don't think that your review is completely fair. While I do think that the Rites of Passage to Swamp Ophelia was an extraordinary period, I think that they equaled that output in their Become You to All That We Let In period. And while I do agree that Despite Our Differences was a little overproduced, it didn't change that the songs were among the strongest they've ever written. I think that PBB is a strong album. but then again the Indigo Girls don't make bad albums.
8 - matthew oliva
You know...very few "artists" today experiment and grow. Another word for that process is: work. That is what Indigo Girls do: they work. Despite lack ofradio, media etc. Cut them some slack. Jeez!
9 - Donna
Interesting review. And thank you for the Radiohead comparison ... I was killing myself trying to think of what song "True Romantic" reminded me.
I also try to approach each new IG album as though I've never heard anything of them before. Most albums are great! A couple have been stinkers ... but as for this one, I'm not so sure how I feel about it. The first time I listened, I hated it. But, the more I listen, the more I firmly believe that the songs are just out of order on the cd. It starts soooooo slooooowly and somberly. It almost sets you up to not like it. What if the CD started with "What Are You Like" instead? Then went to "Ghost of the Gang", etc.
Any thoughts?
10 - Spirals
I've been an IG fan ever since I first heard them in 1987. And learned early on to "...approach each new album as...some new creature as yet unknown to me."
The only thing I expect is to hear them harmonize - everything else is a road not yet taken.
There is always something new that they do - phrasing, not rhyming, note changes - that throws me off and after many listens, it's obvious that they have taught me a new way of hearing and believing it should always be that way.
There is something about True Romantic that pulls at my insides and wrenches my heart.
And I am amazed at Amy's vocals on the acoustic version of Sugar Tongue.
When I went to their in-store signing of Shaming of the Sun, I brought my copy of Swamp Ophelia, which, like you, is the album that defined the aftermath of my college years.
I don't expect every album to be perfect, I just expect it to be representative of their experience(s). And in that perfection occurs.
11 - Tom A
I thought your review nailed it. Like you, I listened to the tracks of "Poseidon" intently, yet hesitantly, like trying to make out the whisper of a friend from a distance. I've heard that whisper occassionally, on certain tracks and on certain albums in the last few years, but not the full-throated yell which so vividly caught my attention when I heard "Closer to Fine" for the first time. I was a junior in high school and that song, that record, began what was to be a three-album love affair that stretched through "Rites of Passage." I miss the sound of the old IG's, but appreciate the effort which has taken them to where they are now.