Ani DiFranco’s always possessed multiple MOs. An artist, entrepreneur and activist for a variety of feminist causes and political agendas, she’s befuddled even her most fervent fans with a number of surprise stylistic turns. Yet, those choices have also helped her create one of the great musical legacies of the last couple of decades—both as a performer and as a savvy business woman at the helm of her own indie label, the appropriately named Righteous Babe.

Consequently, after 20 albums in a little more than 20 years, describing DiFranco as an overachiever seems like something of an understatement. Having evolved from an edgy, outspoken upstart to a more mature artist who’s, well, still edgy, outspoken and also irrefutably influential, she’s ever the insurgent. DiFranco is railing where others whine, while taking equal aim at issues involving sex, politics and modern morals. It’s an unrepentant attitude that surfaces in her sardonic tirades and brisk, percussive rhythms—a volatile combination that’s as compelling as it is controversial.

That said, those outside concerns aren’t as apparent on Allergic To Water. Despite its somewhat enigmatic handle, it’s easily DiFranco’s most subtle and subdued offering yet. Informed by New Orleans, the city where she resides, and recorded at home in the company of her backing band—Warren Haynes Band/Dirty Dozen Brass Band drummer Terence Higgins and bassist Todd Sickafoose—and special guests Ivan Neville and violinist Jenny Scheinman, it’s sparse and markedly low-key, with DiFranco intoning the melodies in a voice that rarely rises above a whisper. The lithe and carefree “Woe Be Gone,” the
sensual, seductive “Allergic To Water” and the softly swaying “Harder Than It Needs to Be” reflect the contentment she’s found in her role as a new mother, affirming, in turn, the intimacy of that embrace. The breezy Brazilian influence of “See See See See” and the tangled intrigue of “Careless Words” and “Genie” notwithstanding, it’s mostly a slow go—easy, effortless and markedly unhurried.

As a result, Allergic To Water isn’t the kind of album that can keep a party at full throttle, especially when it’s essential to shift the energy level into high
gear. Yet, once the celebration winds down, and guests need to recover from any frenetic activity, it can definitely mute the effects of any other liquid or libation.