To The Teeth

Dirty Linen - "...TO THE TEETH is a more introspective and intimate effort than her last couple of more pop-oriented releases....it shows that Ani DiFranco is [ready]...to continue to push the envelope of her artistic expression." Mojo - "...Even by her usual startlingly individual standards it's outlandish....this is another extraordinary seat-of-the-pants DiFranco adventure." Q - 3 stars out of 5 - "...a suprisingly upbeat affair....a packed, often powerful album - sometimes deft, sometimes dizzyingly direct - which can be as infuriating as it is rewarding." Alternative Press - 4 out of 5 - "...reflects DiFranco's effort to stretch the boundaries of her traditional acoustic sound....She has shown while her trademark sound has been smudged and twisted into new amalgamations, her music is all the better for it." CMJ - "...proves that, like Ezra Pound, the songwriter is insistent upon making it new....DiFranco's music is her therapy...which is perhaps why her ardent, rabid fanbase supports her so wholeheartedly..." Spin - 7 out of 10 - "...suggests a move less toward pop product than into straight-up social protest....Perhaps a challenge to her new power generation to not be 'lazy as white paint on a wall'..." Magnet - "...Crazy-sexy cool...with loads of add sounds coaxed from an array of instrumentation....will convince most cynics that she's made of the right stuff..." Rolling Stone - 3 stars out of 5 - "...finds DiFranco exploring different voices - including a newfound sense of soul....TO THE TEETH signals that [her] frenetic productivity is more than a case of spinning in place." Rolling Stone (1/20/00, p.57) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...finds DiFranco exploring different voices - including a newfound sense of soul....TO THE TEETH signals that [her] frenetic productivity is more than a case of spinning in place." Spin (1/00, pp.121-2) - 7 out of 10 - "...suggests a move less toward pop product than into straight-up social protest....Perhaps a challenge to her new power generation to not be 'lazy as white paint on a wall'..." Q (1/00, p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...a suprisingly upbeat affair....a packed, often powerful album - sometimes deft, sometimes dizzyingly direct - which can be as infuriating as it is rewarding." Mojo (12/99, p.116) - "...Even by her usual startlingly individual standards it's outlandish....this is another extraordinary seat-of-the-pants DiFranco adventure." Dirty Linen (4-5/00, p. 54) - "...TO THE TEETH is a more introspective and intimate effort than her last couple of more pop-oriented releases....it shows that Ani DiFranco is [ready]...to continue to push the envelope of her artistic expression." Alternative Press (2/00, p.84) - 4 out of 5 - "...reflects DiFranco's effort to stretch the boundaries of her traditional acoustic sound....She has shown while her trademark sound has been smudged and twisted into new amalgamations, her music is all the better for it." Magnet (4-5/00, p.70) - "...Crazy-sexy cool...with loads of add sounds coaxed from an array of instrumentation....will convince most cynics that she's made of the right stuff..." CMJ (11/15/99, p.3) - "...proves that, like Ezra Pound, the songwriter is insistent upon making it new....DiFranco's music is her therapy...which is perhaps why her ardent, rabid fanbase supports her so wholeheartedly..."

Ani DiFranco continues her soulful, genre-bending, flaming guitar march into the millennium with TO THE TEETH. Like her other recent recordings, she branches out into full-band arrangements with plenty of electric sounds, in addition to the stripped-down acoustic music she's always made. Her singing roams into wider territories too, with the rap-rhythms of a funk singer and the smoky subtleties of a jazz diva.
The title track is Ani's mournful-yet-directed diatribe on gun violence in America. Her sensitive, lilting guitar chords make for a moving contrast with the eventual full-band crescendo. She truly sounds so heartsick of it all that her pipes have run dry. The tune closes with an all-together-now oompah of tuba, trumpet, and drums, giving it an upbeat conclusion. The poly-textured "Freakshow" has a funky, hip-hip sensibility and strident, shout-style vocals--like a couple of the other tunes, it's an overdub pastiche with Ani playing and singing every part. Some honoured guests are in attendance, too: "Swing" is truly a fun affair, with Maceo Parker blowing his signature funk horn to a backdrop of Wurlitzer piano and turntables, while the one-and-only Prince adds spirited vocal atmospherics to "Providence".|