Indigo Girls

Item: Become You
Author: Brian A. Smith

Become You

(2002)

Reviewed by Brian A. Smith

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Label EpicThe Phantom Tollbooth2002

folk rock singer-songwriter

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have comprised one of the few female acts in music that consistently made me sit up and pay attention. They have always been at their best when concentrating on lyrics, harmony, and playing acoustic guitar. In this regard, Become You is a very satisfying project in that it is more stripped down than Come On Now Social or Swamp Ophelia.

Strained relations and the problems of peaceful coexistence seem to dominate the lyrics here. Nine of the twelve songs deal in some way with a painful situation, or a rift that has developed between two people. "Moment of Forgiveness," the album's first single, takes on a Bonnie Raitt/Sheryl Crow sound and features the harmony that has become characteristic of this band.

"Hope Alone" showcases the blending of Ray's alto with Saliers' soprano to its fullest. "Bitterroot" takes a country/newgrass direction, and "Yield" is a country/rock tune in the Neil Young/VOL vein. "Deconstruction" describes the end of a relationship:

We get to decide what we think is no good
We're sculpted from youth
The chipping away makes me weary
And as for the truth it seems we just pick a theory...
To protect openings 'cause when the warring begins
How quickly the wide open narrows...

"You've Got to Show" depicts two people interested in each other, but hesitant to act upon it:

Why don't we both agree we're afraid
And too afraid to say
If I say count to three and move toward me
Would you meet me half the way?
There are a thousand things about me
I want only you to know
But I can't go there alone -- you've got to show

The usual cast appears on Become You -- Michelle Malone sings backup, Clare Kenny plays bass, and Brady Blade is the drummer. Carol Isaacs pulls the Phil Madeira duty on this album -- playing Hammond B-3, Wurlitzer, piano, accordion, pennywhistle, recorder, and some percussion. All of these talents combine with Saliers and Ray to form an album that will fall somewhere in the middle of the Indigo Girls pantheon -- not quite up to the first three albums, but definitely above the last two.

3.5 tocks