Unlike her previous albums where she has done primarily solo work, many guests assist DiFranco in "Knuckle Down," including Joe Henry (songwriter), Julie Wolf (melodica), Tony Scherr (electric guitar) and Todd Sickafoose (bass). Their collaborations are clearly a huge step for DiFranco; in her last album, "Educated Guess," she was the sole artist, playing every instrument, recording her own tracks and even engineering the CD on her own. These additions help create a very warm, full sound that some of her other albums lack, and as always, DiFranco plays the guitar with her signature punchy sound and sings her impromptu "heyheyhey's" and "uhuhuhuh's."
"Knuckle Down" is like a peaceful sequel to "Educated Guess." The sound in this album is more like that of "Educated Guess" than that of her earlier albums, which were very different. For example, she uses the same echoes, background voices and coffee-shop-esque poetry readings with a jazzy background. Each song is sweeter and much more organized than earlier songs like "Untouchable Face" or "Firewall." Overall, "Knuckle Down" has less-jarring music and lyrics than old-school Ani.
As always, the lyrics are the best part of DiFranco's work. On this album, she writes about everything from her immigrant parents in "Paradigm" to awkward kisses in "Manhole." My favorite lyrics come from "Paradigm," where she talks about her mother's grassroots activism and evokes simple but vivid images. She sings, "just a room full of women / licking stamps and laughing." These lyrics are more peaceful and reflective than the earlier, angrier songs which resulted in the public stereotyping her as an "angry feminist man-hater." DiFranco now sings with a mature, wise attitude. She no longer writes about restlessly grappling with life's problems, but instead imparts the wisdom she has gained from this grappling.
The CD cover alone makes "Knuckle Down" an aesthetic as well as a musical purchase. It's a soothing green color which complements the healing music in the album. The case features an upside-down hand that looks as though it is grasping the CD inside. Flipping through the liner notes is like figuring out a fun puzzle that unfolds in entertaining ways and cleverly ties in the themes of the album, including the title "Knuckle Down." The back of the cover features a hand (which I'm assuming is DiFranco's) with the track names written on it. Simply downloading the music is not enough to capture the full effect of the album. In fact, "Knuckle Down" brings back the older idea of the album as a package deal.
For all DiFranco lovers, "Knuckle Down" is definitely worth buying. For once, you'll be able to listen to her while happily relaxing in a bathtub, instead of just during those moments when you're once again pissed off at that "asshole."