Album Review: Knuckle Down by Ani DiFranco

Fans that were lukewarm to Ani DiFranco 's bare-bones, self-produced Educated Guess will be pleased to learn that the notoriously independent artist has delegated half of her 13th studio recording's production duties to fellow singer/songwriter Joe Henry. Knuckle Down combines all of the spite, spark, compassion and wordy observation of the DiFranco of old with the kind of constructive hindsight that can only come from years spent blazing your own trail -- the knotty title cut ends with DiFranco musing "I think I'm done gunnin to get closer to some imagined bliss/I gotta knuckle down/just be ok with this" then wistfully replies "'course that star struck girl is already someone I miss. " It's a brave opening statement, and one that permeates Knuckle Down throughout.

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