Q-Music: To Ani and Beyond

Singer/songwriter and indie music mogul Ani DiFranco released her eponymous debut album on her own record label almost 35 years ago. After releasing (almost) an album a year until around 2008, DiFranco, who maintained a rigorous tour schedule, began taking her time between records. Her latest, “Unprecedented Sh!t” (Righteous Babe), arrived a little over three years after its predecessor. While DiFranco maintains her reputation as a singular lyricist (see “Virus,” “New Bible,” “Spinning Room,” “You Forgot To Speak,” “The Think At Hand”), it’s her approach to the audio component that offers listeners a revolutionary change. Sonically experimental (and exciting), with some songs clocking in at under three minutes and a couple just over five, the “unprecedented” sound (listen to title cut) matches some of the “unprecedented” subject matter she addresses. DiFranco performs April 8 in Minneapolis at First Avenue.

As soon as you hear Sophie Gault’s voice on “Kick The Devil Away,” the opening track to her second album “Baltic Street Hotel” (Strong Place Music), you’ll understand why she was featured as a backing vocalist on Lucinda Williams’ 2023 album “Stories From a Rock ‘n’ Roll Heart.” The similarities in their voices are so striking! Gault also has Williams’ knack for balancing rockers (“Christmas in the Psych Ward,” “Fixin Things,” “Jealousy,” “Poet In A Buick”) with breathtaking ballads (“Lately,” “Lights,” “Over and Out”). Gault’s cover of Patty Griffin’s “Every Little Bit” deserves to be heard by everyone.

Speaking of Patty Griffin, you can hear her influence, as well as that of Kacey Musgraves, on singer/songwriter Madi Diaz’s amazing new album “Weird Death” (Anti-). Musgraves even joins Diaz on “Don’t Do Me Good.” An exceptional set of 12 modern folk-pop tunes, Diaz’s ability to musically slip an arm around our shoulder and pull us into her world makes us not want to leave her orbit. Songs such as “Hurting You,” “Girlfriend,” “Same Risk,” “God Person,” “Get To Know Me” and “KFM.” Definitely one of the best albums of the year.

While we’re on the subject of influences, it’s hard to name another artist who wears the impact of Lana Del Rey more audibly than Suki Waterhouse. That’s meant as a compliment, especially in the way she takes the Del Rey ball and runs with it and makes it her own on her new album “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” (Sub Pop). It comes through loud and clear on “Could Have Been a Star,” “Faded,” “To Get You,” “Legendary,” “Lawsuit,” “OMG,” “Model, Actress, Whatever” and “To Love.” Of course, there’s much more to Waterhouse, as you can hear on the “Blackout Drunk,” “My Fun” and “Big Love.”

If you don’t count the soundtrack to “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (in which she starred), Andra Day took nine years between her lauded debut album and her new one, “Cassandra (Cherith)” (Warner Records). Beginning with opener “Maybe Next Time,” Day comes across as Erykah Badu crossed with Holiday, and the results are compelling. But we must wait until the next song, “Probably,” to hear Day stretch out, belting to the sky and beyond. Other moments of fantastic brilliance include “Midnight,” the Amy Winehouse-esque “Bottom of the Bottle,” the subtly brassy “More,” the deceptive simplicity of “Chasing” and the begging-for-a-remix “Champagne Flutes.” All in all, it was well worth the wait for this Day to come.

When you first hear the timeless “On Tonight,” the opening cut on “Bite Down” (Merge) by mono-monikered Rosali, you might think you were listening to a vintage folk-rock tune, but you’d be wrong. To her credit, Rosali (Middleman) has a gift for creating contemporary Americana that sounds deeply rooted in the Laurel Canyon tradition. Backed by fantastic musicians, that retro energy carries on throughout Rosali’s wonderful record, creating a sense of sonic nostalgia, especially on “Rewind,” “My Kind,” “Slow Pain,” “Hopeless,” “May It Be On Offer” and the keys on the title number.

Louisa Stancioff stands out from the pack in interesting ways. First, her soprano lilt is approachable and pleasing. It’s also tricky in the way that as sweet as it sounds, it belies the darker aspects of her lyrics, as in the case of “Cigarette,” “Nobody’s Watching,” “All F—’d Up” and “Quarantine.” As if that wasn’t enough of a recommendation, she does it all in under 40 minutes. Brava!

Adding some international flair to this column, singer/songwriter Jana Mila, an Amsterdammer, has released her debut album “Chameleon” (New West). A thoroughly pleasant folk-pop mélange, the album opens with the gorgeous “Like Only Lovers Could” which floats in on stunning harmonies and a stirring cello. “Somebody New” picks up the pace and feels like a hit single. The bare bones “Love Let Go” captures the break-up mood, while “I Wasn’t Gonna” builds until it gets its point across. The piano and vocal “In Between” shows another side of Mila.

Keeping with the global theme, Australian-born Ruth Moody, who made her name as one-third of the Canadian trio The Wailin’ Jennys, has released her latest solo effort, “Wanderer” (Blue Muse). Even with that pedigree, Moody has crafted some of the loveliest Americana you’re likely to hear. Highlights include “Seventeen,” “North Calling,” “Comin’ Round the Bend” and the incredible “Twilight.”