The Indigo Girls sound hasn’t changed much in the 20-plus years they’ve been together. And that’s a good thing. Like a bowl of your mom’s chicken noodle soup, the Indigos are comfort food for the soul. Their latest release, All that We Let In, delivers more of what we love the Indigos for.
Emily's Writing Shines
On the past few albums, Amy Ray’s songwriting has overpowered Emily Saliers’, which has been tepid and pale. What a nice surprise on All that We let In that Emily, author of the classics Power of Two and Closer to Fine finally has her song-writing power back. Especially strong is the title song, a muse on a predictable Indigo topic: love and war.We’re in an evolution, I have heard it said
Everyone’s so busy, but do we move ahead?
Planets hurling, atoms splitting
And a sweater for your love you sit there knitting
(All That We Let In)
Amy Asks the Questions
Amy’s songs tend to ask the unanswerable questions.I kicked up the dirt, and I said to my neighbor
“We keep making it worse, we keep getting it wrong.”
He tucked in his shirt, He stood a little bit straighter,
He said, “We need a few less words Dear, We need a few more guns.”
But will it bring us together?
(Tether)
Questions and Answers
Amy asks, “Can we make it better? Do we tether the hawk or do we tether the dove?” Emily states emphatically, “We’re better off for all that we let in.”The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts
The two have grown in different musical directions, Emily favoring the ballad and Amy branching off to collaborate with punk bands on her solo efforts. But on this album, as with all that have come before, it’s the blending of voices, strong writing and politics that makes the Indigo Girls greater than the sum of it’s parts.
