Customer Reviews

Despite Our Differences

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Indigo Girls are a rare breed: a powerful group (of two) who have created music of the highest quality for over two decades. The only negative comment I think one could make at this point would be that they are consistent, while our culture is addicted to novelty. But, the Indigo Girls have never sacrificed the cutting edge, whether musically (as on "Swamp Ophelia" and "Shaming of the Sun") or lyrically (for example, "Come On Now Social" and "Rites of Passage").

Both Emily Saliers and Amy Ray are master lyricists. They conjur images, ideas, themes, and styles from our often-overlooked & forgotten heritage, infuse them with 'au courant' and transform them into immediate, relevant, fully textured discourse.

"Despite Our Differences" - their first of five contracted albums with their new label, Hollywood Records - finds the Indigo Girls in true form, tackling 13 new songs with their unique, unhurried style. In my opinion, this is their finest overall release since "Come On Now Social" in 1999.

Something new on this album: "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate" features P!nk on background vocals. (The Indigo Girls were also featured on P!nk's last album, contributing vocals to the politically charged ballad "Dear Mr. President.") If this song is any indication, I think it would be great to see more collaboration with the younger generation of musicians. After listening to "Despite Our Differences" several times over the past four days, this powerful song with inspired vocals has emerged as a favorite.

If you're a fan who has taken a break, now is the time to get back on the bus. From Emily's gorgeous "I Believe In Love" to Amy's amazing "Dirt and Dead Ends" this is not one you want to miss.

Let's get it out of the way right now. As artists, the gay activist duo can be hard for some folk to swallow. Their most loyal fanbase, if you've ever been to a live show, is largely made up of women of the same conviction. Don't be too quick to stereotype, though. As a white protestant straight male with a wife and a kid, i report that this latest album by the Indigo Girls is as approachable yet subtly addictive as any Indigo Girls album's ever been.
Amy and Emily,both in their prime, crank out song after song of harmonic genius. Emily continues to merge what she refers to as the secular with the sacred, with such lyrics as "But you can't keep a spirit down that wants to get up again/ If we're a drop in the bucket/ With just enough science to keep from saying f*ck it/ Until the last drop of sun burns its sweet light/ Plenty revolutions left until we get this thing right" . Amy paints what may be the most vivid and burning image of the unexpected turn taken by a neighborly relationship in "Dirt and Dead Ends", "It's been you and me on this frontier/trying not to be suburban pioneers./Fighting off the pavers and the associations,/and the covenants against the trailers."
Despite Our Differences has only been available for a day now, but i've already gotten enough mileage out of the tracks to know that it'll be at the top of my playlist for a long, long time. There's plenty here to get lost in, and, as always, the Indigo Girls have offered up a setlist of songs that transcend the latest fads in the music industry. Do yourself a favor and check out Despite Our Differences.

The Indigo Girls made two very solid CDs in Become You and All That We Let In. They were full of good songs, yet the production was missing some of the power of albums like Rites Of Passage and Swamp Ophelia. Yet instead of the acoustic sound often found on those albums, on Despite Our Differences, the Indigo Girls have gone more electric. Same power - different approaches. My favorites are the rocker "Rock And Roll Heaven's Gate" and the ballad "I Believe In Love." The Indigo Girls' writing on here is also a return to form, expanding their metaphors and comparisons. A great addition to their library!

Hard to believe but the Indigo Girls (Emily Saliers and Amy Ray) have been around for 20 years now. In their most recent albums it sounded to me like the Girls had lost inspiration. Maybe sensing the same, after 2004's disappointing "All That We Let In', the Girls switched record labels, and this is their first album on their new label (Hollywood).

On "Despite Our Differences" (13 tracks, 48 min.), the Indigo Girls sounds reinvigerated, with catchy and memorable songs, their best collection in years. On the album Emily and Amy each take turn providing a song(7 songs for Emily, 6 for Amy), although generally speaking Emily provides the more laid-back tunes, while Amy tends to rock a little harder. I personaly prefer Emily's songs, but that's not to say that Amy is "not good". My favorite tracks on the album include "Pendulum Swinger", "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate" (which features Pink on vocals), "All the Way", and, in my opinion the best track on here "I Believe in Love", a bittersweet look back at a relationship, with the aching chorus:

"I want to say that underneath it all you are my friend
And the way the I fell for you I'll never fall that way again
I still believe despite our differences that what we have's enough
I believe in you and I believe in love"

"Despite Our Differences" is easily the Indigo Girls' best album in the last 10 years, and despite lingering a bit toward the end (1 or 2 songs shorter would've made this album even better), this is highly recommended.

The album works well in part because the songs alternate voices - musically, lyrically & vocally. 7 songs are written by Emily, 6 by Amy. The styles & rhythms vary. 'Rock and roll Heaven's Gate' instrumentally sounds very similar to Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl' (a cool rock song if for no other reason than it rhymes the word 'moot'). This album does not deviate from the Indigo Girls terrific sound. The album gives the strong impression the Indigo Girls read unfavorable fan reviews about the 'over-produced' 'All That We Let In' (see for example the Amazon reviews), and responded by making 'Differences' a return to earlier sound schemes. So if you've heard lots of Indigo Girls songs and enjoy them, you'll probably enjoy this album. But vice versa is probably also true. 'Last Tears' musically reminds me of fresh, 70s sounds of country rock

The Indigo Girls keep their unassuredness on their sleeves, asking more questions of themselves than shouting answers to others. While pop singers like Christina Aguilera proclaim 'There Ain't No Other Man' and they've found their one true love, The Indigo Girls are consistently wrestling with all their loves, past & present, political & personal: 'Have I learned all that I'm supposed to learn?' from the song 'All The Way.'

The first 4 songs are upbeat and hopeful. But like older songs such as 'Hope Alone', 'Differences' includes sober songs like 'Last Tears' & 'Run' about the illusions of letting go of loves and the near hopelessness of living with unrequited loves. On a political level, 'They Won't Have Me' is a blues concession that so many environmental conservation causes will likely inevitably fail. But the Indigo Girls would not exist if they did not emphasize hope. And 'Pendulum Swinger' starts the album's rally with 'I see love and I like to make it happen' and 'You can't keep a spirit down that wants to get up again.' The Indigo Girls can't force change, and they don't believe silent frustration can create progress. So They Sing. 'It doesn't come by the bull whip. It's not persuaded with your hands on your hips. The epicenter of love is a pendulum swinger.' They express ideas with clear acoustic sounds, open air feel, & beats that make you want to clap & swing your hips on the 2 & 4 ('Little Perennials').

There are some songs you hear that are so good, that once you've heard them, you can't practically ask yourself: What would my life be without them? They are a part of your psyche. You can't imagine throwing them away. You can't "unhear" them. The Indigo Girls have created many of those songs for me. They don't just stand on a street corner shouting clever slogans and waving signs. They articulate complex arguments and ideas in concise ways, emotionally and intellectually. They live lives consistent with those ideals. They stay in the debates long after the majority has continuously opposed them.

A way to evaluate a relationship between 2 artists is to ask 2 questions: 1) How does their effect on each other improve the creation of quality art? 2) How does their effect on each other create a more positive social environment for everyone around them specifically, and the world in general? I don't know why we got so lucky that Amy & Emily met. The convergence of their artistries is probably larger and better than if they had never chosen to work together. I don't like to imagine a world where they had never met, or where they no longer choose to create together.

The harmony is still perfection; the music is stripped down, harking back to the CDs they made before "Become You" and "All That We Let It". The lyrics, you can get lost in. The contrast between the seven songs of Emily and the six songs of Amy form a smooth counterpoint in the aptly named, latest CD from the Indigo Girls, "Despite Our Differences".

With a new producer and a new label, it seems as though IG has shaken off the doldrums that populated their last effort, when they replaced strong songwriting with lots of instrumentation. They use a variety of guitars here, mostly acoustic, but with electrics, slide and mandolin counterpoints. (No banjo, more's the pity.) Their back up musicians are solid and sparse. Pink appears on one song, and although her appearance and the rocker quality of the song made waves when the CD first appeared, the song "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate" is an anthem about the music business, and, while clever and tuneful, fades away in the power of the other songs.

I normally gravitate towards Emily's songs, and here she is the sad balladeer of love lost, for the most part. She writes the opening song, "Pendulum", which is the most political ("the ticker of the nation breaking down like a bad clock") of the songs here. As in all Emily's political statements, she blends the political and the spiritual; it's a woman's power song, and lyrically stirring. My favorite of her songs on this CD is also one of those songs I can't let go of. It's entitled
"Run". In this song, Emily is relegating herself to the role of one of many lovers who've been left by someone who becomes fearful of giving too much in a relationship:

...."And you run, that's all you've ever done
It's all you know to do
I can't hold that against you.
And you'll flee, you're born to be free
And if you go, I'll understand
But you better get out while you can."


Her lyrics are as intense and as fiery in "All the Way", and her "Last Tears" and "I Believe in Love" are equally beautiful in the combination of lyrics and music. Only "Fly", with its metaphors about birds, is a weak contribution in her portion of the CD.

Amy Ray surprises with a rhythmic "Little Perennials", my favorite of her songs on this CD and the tune that keeps coming to mind whenever I look to find the CD to play again. It's a bit nonsensical, and finds, uniquely, Emily doing the low harmony instead of the high. Amy's two "rural" songs are drawn from the land on which she lives, with "Dirt and Dead Ends" the most striking and "They Won't Have Me" describing how little she fits into the rural southern landscape, despite her good intentions.

"Three County Highway" describes just about every little town I've been in and it's a love song, a little different than what Ray usually writes about.

Musically, "Despite Our Differences" is a great blend of two musicians coming together and blending their differences in a collaboration that weaves back and forth. Lyrically, it is outstanding. As usual, it gets more frequent play than anything else I've purchased in the last 6 months in my car. It's good road music, it's articulate, it's everything I buy an IG collaboration for.

I hope you listen and enjoy.

This is a fabulous album! Song after song is strong, with Amy and Emily's voices coming through as clearly as ever. There is a strong rock undercurrent to many of the songs (as opposed to being as folk-based), which I like.

Get this album if you are an Indigo Girls fan, especially from the "Rites of Passage" and "Swamp Ophelia" era. Get this album if you like straight-up folk rock. Get this album if you love singer-songwriters. Just - get this album!

I've been a follower of the Indigo Girls since their debut and this album is now one of my favorites. I don't know what it is that makes it so much better than their other recent albums (I have them all). Perhaps it's the production by Mitchell Froom? Perhaps it's the pronounced balance of Emily's more pop inclinations with Amy's darker, more Southern Rock? Whatever it is, it's very good and highly recommended.

I just hope that this album doesn't get passed over. It's not getting the same degree of airplay as did singles from their other albums when they were signed with the major label Epic. In particular, Pendulum Swinger should be getting tons of airplay--very classic Indigo Girls sign-along--but alas, nothing. So I guess we all need to make sure we play it for all our friends to hear!

Needless to say, I am a fan. Always have been, always will be. This new release from the Indigo Girls just reaffirms that these two women are some of the best lyricists, musicians and vocalists out there. While "folk rock" may not be your thing, you may want to give this offering a listen. This CD is an evolution in all that makes the Indigo Girls one of the greatest bands ever known that no one hardly knows. And even though you may say you don't know them, chances are you have hummed a tune or two if thiers at one time or another. Give this CD a chance and chances are, you will be humming these tunes as well. Simply awesome.

I've been following the Indigo Girls for almost 20 years. As a whole it is some of the best musicianship and songwriting out there. While they have strayed away from their acoustic sing-along harmonies a few times in the past, this album is a return to their finest form. Amy and Emily are a perfect compliment to each other, and it is never more noticeable than it is on this album.