Recorded 2010–2011 Length 52:42 | Genre Indie rock
Folk rock Label Righteous Babe | |
Released January 17, 2012 (2012-01-17) Producer Ani DiFranco
Mike Napolitano | ||
¿Which Side Are You On? is the eighteenth studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released on January 17, 2012.
Contents
The title track is a revised version of the 1931 Florence Reece song "Which Side Are You On?" which was popularized by Pete Seeger. Seeger also provides accompanying vocals and banjo on the track.
Critical reception
The album so far has a score of 69 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews". The Boston Globe gave it a favorable review and stated that most of it "strikes a natural balance between matters of the heart and causes close to DiFranco's heart." The Independent gave it four stars out of five and called it "Ani DiFranco's first album in three years [that] finds the self-proclaimed Righteous Babe in feisty, thoughtful form." Blurt gave the album seven stars out of ten and stated: "The melodies aren't so easily embraced; loping, ephemeral and often sounding blithely disconnected, they defy any attempt at grasping an easy hook or chorus. What's more, the loose grooves sometimes run counter to the tunes' sense of profundity."
Other reviews are pretty average or mixed: Mojo gave it three stars out of five and said the album was "sweet and to the point." Now also gave it three stars out of five and stated that the album "works best when DiFranco points to contradictions within herself, and worst when her lyrics get preachy or black-and-white." The Daily Telegraph likewise gave it three stars and said that DiFranco's "worthier sentiments are balanced by maturing wit, self-awareness and the distinctive snap'n'slap of her funky guitar grooves." Entertainment Weekly, however, gave the album a C and said that DiFranco "gets stuck in too many clunky Big Idea statements about equality and social politics."
Track listing
All tracks written by Ani DiFranco (except track 3 by Florence Reece & Ani DiFranco).
Personnel
Adapted from the credits.
Charts
The album debuted at #82 on the Canadian Albums Chart and at #26 on the Billboard 200.