“Poseidon and the Bitter Bug,” (IG Recordings/Vanguard Records)
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers spent three weeks in an Atlanta recording studio and came out of the sessions with a double disc of songs showcasing the duo’s storytelling talents and guitar melodies.
The two discs that make up the Indigo Girls’ latest, “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug,” each contain the same 10 songs – five from Ray and five from Saliers. The first disc features rich, full band orchestrations and the second disc a stripped-down set of just the Indigo Girls and their guitars.
The songs stay true to their style – using guitar and percussion to tell American stories of good and evil, love, loss and life with well-crafted lyrics, melody, harmony and rhythm.
If the full-band disc puts passion and sound between your headphones, the acoustic disc has an immediate intimacy weighted with little more than bare voices and instruments. It will remind longtime fans of their stylings on “Closer to Fine” or “Power of Two” on 1995′s double-live disc, “1200 Curfews.”
The album’s “don’t miss” tracks include Saliers’ “Digging for Your Dream” and Ray’s laid-back and bluesy “Sugar Tongue.” Both continue the band’s folk rock heritage.
The songwriting on this album reveals two world-weary women reflecting on the joys and sorrows of a partial life lived.
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Indigo Girls
“Poseidon and the Bitter Bug,” (IG Recordings/Vanguard Records)
Genre: pop-rock
Grade: A