Indigo Girls Release New Album With Harder Edge

Indigo Girls

Shaming Of The Sun (Epic)

The world’s most popular female folk-rock duo delivers the goods once again on its latest offering, which blasted onto The Billboard 200 at No. 7. Filled with the kind of harmony-rich, lyrically intense songs fans have come to expect, but tinged with a harder edge than some of the group’s past work, the album’s tone is set by rockin’ opener “Shame On You,” featuring Steve Earle on vocals and harmonica; other highlights include the sing-along “Get Out The Map” and the searing “It’s Alright.” An album that finds the Girls exploring new musical horizons while keeping longtime fans satisfied.

Various Artists

“The Last Party - Music Inspired By The Book ‘The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco And The Culture Of The Night”’ (Island)

There’s no better way to relive the campy glory of the disco era than by spinning such period staples as Material’s “Busting Out,” Lipps Inc.’s “Funkytown,” Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” and the Village People’s “Go West.” Even better is hearing these tunes sequenced seamlessly into one another, as they were on any of those crazy late-‘70s, early-‘80s nights at New York’s Studio 54. Besides pushing all the right nostalgic buttons, this music is undergoing a revival at a time when young minds are tuned to the sounds of such electronic provocateurs as the Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy - who owe many of their frenetic rhythms to these early synthesists. One of the best party discs to come along in a long time.

Sawyer Brown

“Six Days on the Road” (Curb)

Powered by a rock-solid remake of Dave Dudley’s 1963 No. 2 hit, “Six Days on the Road,” this album has returned quirky group Sawyer Brown to prominence. What really propels that song, though, is Duncan Cameron’s gritty guitar work. Otherwise, this is a solid mix of ballads and uptempo songs. Cuts 12 through 17 are blank, because cut 18 is about a football player whose number was 18. Clear?

Sara Hickman

“Misfits” (Shanachie)

Label debut from Texan singer/songwriter Sara Hickman is “a collection of odds and ends” that (mostly) spans the last 10 years in an engaging, if scattershot, self-portrait. In a collection featuring guest stars Brave Combo, Adrian Belew, David Sancious and Tony Levin, highlights include the graceful “Secrets of Love II” and “Satin Sheets for Alice,” the venomous get-even narrative of “Dumptruck,” the lilting Tex-Mex inflections of “False Pretenses” and the delicate “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon.” Other random gems include the comically catchy “Radiation Man,” an enjoyable, unused TV theme song, and the bittersweet choral voices of “Romania,” composed to raise money for that country’s orphans. Covers include a jokey take on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” a not-too-jokey take on David Cassidy hit “I Think I Love You” (with Mildred from Spot), and a ska-tinged version of “Zippity Doo Dah.”