Despite Our Differences (CD - 2006)

Indigo Girls: Emily Saliers (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, ukulele); Amy Ray (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica); Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Claire Kenny (bass guitar); Matt Chamberlain (drums).

The Indigo Girls may still be the soft, folky females that tough rocker dudes love to mock, but the pair's 11th studio album serves to remind that Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have been making surprisingly consistent albums packed with sharp songwriting and performances for a remarkably long time. In fact, DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES ranks among the duo's finest offerings.

The album is packed with meticulously crafted tunes long on memorable melodies, impeccably tight harmonies, and moving lyrics (see the nakedly emotive "I Believe in Love"). Producer Mitchell Froom gives the album a distinctively breezy and shimmery feel, and while country inflections underpin many of the tunes, there are equal measures of pop and straight-ahead folk in the mix. Let the rock dudes keep sneering: with DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCE the Indigo Girls continue to develop and hone their delicate, organic sound. minimize