Full Review

Dar Williams – Mortal City

Originally released in 1996 (and re-issued in Europe in 2006), Dar’s second album picked up where her debut left off and continues with a superb collection of memorable songs.

The opener ‘As Cool As I Am’ is a real eye opening rock/pop song with great percussion and some superb didgeridoo and harmonicas throughout. The contrast it makes with the next song ‘February’ is striking; it’s a simple guitar and cello track that uses February as a metaphor for various stages in a relationship – it’s a beautiful piece.

In parallel to the contrast between rockier and acoustic numbers, she uses the same device with lyrics placing humorous and more stark pieces next to each other, and it works equally well at focussing the listener on the lyrics and giving the songs more impact; it works especially well with ‘The Christians and the Pagans’ and ‘This Was Pompeii’.

Dar’s vocals are strong and sweet and her guitar work is as detailed and delicate as ever, and there’s a good mix of instrumentation on the rockier tracks and instrumental and vocal contributions from Lucy Kaplansky, Larry Campbell, John Prine and Cliff Eberhardt.

‘Mortal City’ remains an excellent album that sounds contemporary and fresh 10 years it’s original release – alongside her debut ‘The Honesty Room’ this is a classic singer/songwriter disc. Very highly recommended.