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Amazon.com Dar Williams's End of the Summer finds her following in the techno-folkie footsteps of Suzanne Vega and Rickie Lee Jones. Most of the tracks feature muscular rhythms provided by Sammy Merendino's programmed drum loops, and thickened textures provided by layers of electric and acoustic guitars. This new approach pays dividends for a singer/songwriter whose thin soprano and coffeehouse lyrics have often proven underwhelming in the past. Here she is encouraged by producer Steven Miller to cram as many words as possible into the herky-jerky verses and then release the tension with a chorus of simple statements and catchy melody. This allows her to run verbal riffs on slackers in "Party Generation," on therapy in "What Do You Hear in These Sounds," and on middle age in "Teenagers, Kick Our Butts." Some of these riffs are witty and some aren't, but they pay off in satisfying refrains where Williams's wispy voice is surrounded by belt-it-out harmony singers. While the title tune is Williams at her dreary, maudlin worst, another ballad, "If I Wrote You" (with harmonies by Shindell), proves the techno-folkie formula can work even at slow tempos. --Geoffrey Himes
Dar Williams is one of my favorite folk artists. I was introduced to her music by a woman I never really knew, had relatively little connection to, no romantic connection to whatsoever, and yet she made me a mix tape which included some of Dar's work. Since then I have been picking up Dar's albums.This is one of her better efforts. You get her sense of humor in "Party Generation", and "Teenagers Kick Our Butts", her sense of poignancy in "If I Wrote You" and "It's a War in There", introspection in "Are You Out There" and "What Do You Hear in These Sounds", friendship in "My Friends", "Road Buddy" and "Better Things" and her views on materialism in "Bought and Sold."I highly recommend this album. If you are familiar with Dar's other works you will love this album and if you are not you will likely discover a love for Dar's works.
