Despite Our Differences

Performer: Indigo Girls
Producer: Mitchell Froom
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Indigo Girls: Emily Saliers (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, ukulele); Amy Ray (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica); Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Claire Kenny (bass guitar); Matt Chamberlain (drums). The Indigo Girls may still be the soft, folky females that tough rocker dudes love to mock, but the pair's 11th studio album serves to remind that Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have been making surprisingly consistent albums packed with sharp songwriting and performances for a remarkably long time. In fact, DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES ranks among the duo's finest offerings. The album is packed with meticulously crafted tunes long on memorable melodies, impeccably tight harmonies, and moving lyrics (see the nakedly emotive "I Believe in Love"). Producer Mitchell Froom gives the album a distinctively breezy and shimmery feel, and while country inflections underpin many of the tunes, there are equal measures of pop and straight-ahead folk in the mix. Let the rock dudes keep sneering: with DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCE the Indigo Girls continue to develop and hone their delicate, organic sound.

Q (p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his collection focuses more on personal politics and emotional affairs....DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES bustles with invention, righteous anger...[and] sunshine harmonies..." Dirty Linen (p.77) - "[T]heir sound is as sturdy as ever, and their gritty optimism remains undaunted..."

Since the late-1980s, the Athens, Georgia, duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, collectively the Indigo Girls, have been creating gentle, yet furious harmonies, gloriously un-fragile folk crafted with an uncompromising DIY aesthetic. In 1989, MTV caught wind of the pair and, while the outlet's sensationalist nature harped on the lesbian angle, the station also pushed the single "Closer to Fine" onto the pop charts. The fanbase remained, even after any wisp of novelty faded, and the 1990s saw the Indigo Girls release a constant stream of critically praised records, highlighted by RITES OF PASSAGE and SWAMP OPHELIA.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25