Review: Dar Williams "Promised Land"
Folk Singer Songwriter Returns to her Roots With Promised Land
Nov 20, 2008
Dar Williams has been a staple on the modern folk scene for the last fifteen years, staying relevant with superior song writing and intimate live performances. Promised Land is her first studio album in 3 years, following up the moderately disappointing My Better Self, which moved away from her folky sensibilities and into pop music.
Promised Land is a return to her folk roots. She has mostly moved away from the orchestration of My Better Self, and produced a solid album, that will satisfy her fan base.
Buzzer: One of her Best Songs in Years
The stand out song on this album is the hypnotic and subversive “Buzzer.” Buzzer is easily her finest song in years, a cleverly worded narrative about a lab experiment that goes on to mirror what happens when people “just follow orders.”
Dar’s music is much like Ernest Hemmingway’s Iceberg Theory. Each of her songs is so entrenched in the musical spectrum that they trigger memories of songs past, sending a listener spiraling down his own memories--the other 90% of the iceberg. This is not to say that her songs are derivative in anyway, rather they are pathways to the collective musical unconscious, something song writers aspire to, but almost never reach.
Unfortunately, most of the other songs on Promised Land are average for Dar (which is still very good for any one else). She has a good balance of up-tempo rockers, mid-tempo pop songs, and introspective ballads to keep the album moving. "The Easy Way " is a strong, pop oriented song that will play well as a single, containing personal--but not too personal--lyrics. "Go to the Woods" is an enjoyable country flavored tune with the witty lyrics that fans of Dar are so familiar with.
Williams Covers Fountains of Wayne, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Two songs on the album are covers. "Troubled Times" is a cover of a Fountains of Wayne song, and may be the most catchy, radio friendly song on the album. "Midnight Radio" is from the musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Midnight Radio is a morose song, the closest that Dar comes to breaking out of her mold on Promised Land.
All together, Promised Land is a solid album that fans of Dar Williams will enjoy. She does not take any risks on it and makes no mistakes, but it is that lack of risks that keeps it from living up to her fantastic early music. Certainly it does not capture the feel of her live performances, where she is at her peak. But what it lacks in edge it makes up for in pleasant, soul-soothing music.
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