Sonia and Disappear Fear
"DF05 Live"
(Disappear Records)
Sonia Rutstein scored a Grammy nomination last year (for Best Contemporary Folk Album), and"DF05 Live" offers the uninitiated a glimpse at what diehard fans and Grammy voters alike have come to appreciate about the exuberant and outspoken singer-songwriter. Over the course of 17 songs—recorded live at festivals and venues across the country—the disc showcases the hallmarks of a quintessential modern-day folk singer: sprightly, open-air arrangements; a passion for the usual political and social causes; and (most importantly) a sunny delivery that helps the occasional polemic or genre cliché go down smooth.
Fronting a new, lean version of her band Disappear Fear (which made its debut last year at Atlanta's Dogwood Festival), the singer doesn't hold back from espousing her political beliefs ("Washington Work Song," "No Bomb is Smart"). But more often than not, she does so in an unassuming way that can't help but evoke a much more relaxed Ani DiFranco. It's not every folk singer who can sell a line like "Is there anybody here who thinks that following the orders takes away the blame?"—so easily read as a politically incorrect jab at the U.S. soldiers in, say, Iraq—with such genial understatement.
Such potentially polarizing moments are few, surrounded by upbeat romps ("Play the Music"), odes to loving fathers ("Won't Let Go") and relationship laments ("Obviously"). Nothing here is particularly groundbreaking, but Rutstein's easygoing aura and a capable backing band add a likable sheen to the all-too-familiar folk-singer template. 2.5 STARS-- —Kevin Forest Moreau