RE-INVENTING ANI DiFRANCO ..._ 4...,,..._.. BY L|.UV|A MULVANEY-STANAK anity Fair has likened her voice to “the murmur ofa lover who knows every last secret and decides to stay. ” The UK feminist rag The F- Word wrote “she writes snappy, clever lyrics and memorable music. ” Rolling Stone called one of her last albums “powerful listening for anyone struggling to make sense ofa seemingly capsizing world. ” Who murmurs? Who is snappy and clever? Who can make the world (and colored money_too) make sense? Ms. Righteous Babe — Ani Difranco. Long-term fans to new fans: brace yourself. It’s a new year.'That means there is a new Ani album. And this one, kids, is not for the faint of fans. Her 16th full-length disc is called Educated Guess. Wanting to make a clear break from her band-oriented work of the past five years, she ‘ has put a new definition to “solo. project.” It is complete Ani. She wrote it. She sang lead. She played all the instruments. She sang back up. She mixed it. She drew the artwork. This is as solo as you can get.‘ _ Fans will bejarred a bit because of all this. The cutting yet smooth sounds of past albums are gone. Educated Guess sounds like an echo of Little Plastic Castle and Dilate, with some hard-hit- ting first-person lessons learned from love. It also has the maturi- ty, growth, and musical experi- mentation that are reminiscent of Evolve. Difi'anco has unleashed her new reinvention of herself on this album. If you are aching for the solo sounds and the “fuck you” of Untouchable Face you will have to settle with the subtle “Bubble” that has lines like: “I hated to pop the bubble of me and you / but it only held enough oxy- gen for a trip or two.” More than one track has themes about men — something that her sometimes- rabid lesbian/bi audience might cringe at. But if you listen closely, you will hear that she feels like she is drowning —- she is tired of taking care of men. Is this hope for her queer followers? Orjust another reflective composition about a chapter in her life? A majority of the lyrical content of Educated Guess, both in the spoken word and some songs, speaks to the state of the world: patriotism, feminism, social and individual responsibili- ty in our political world, all topics and messages that the disillu- sioned, the sleeping and even the agitators could do well with a listen. For passion, inspiration, even healing — for the sheer respect that Ani Difranco has earned and long deserved — pick this album up, let it run through a few times, and it is bound to make even the most skeptical get that “new” Ani chill. V Lluvia Mulvaney-Slanak enjoys Ani Difranco is music as often as possible in Burlington. She is also the co-director Q/‘Outright Vermont. Pets love Shopping... at llermonfs largest Family-llwned and flperuted Pet 8. Pet Suppplygstore NOAH’S ARK Pet 8. Grooming Center Just Off ¥—89, exit 16 Muss from Libby’: wutut.NoalrsArl