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It's been 20 years since the Indigo Girls began making music. I am impressed, not only with the great music this duo puts out, but their staying power. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers released Despite Our Differences their 11th album in 2006.

Despite their Differences

I've been a fan of the Indigo Girls for almost their full career. Over the past 20 years, I've listened as Amy Ray and Emily Saliers sound diverged further and further from each other.

In the early years, I could sometimes not distinguish which song was written by Amy or which song had Emily on lead vocals. Despite our Differences follows the pattern of previous album All that We Let In with every other song written by Amy or Emily. From the first few notes of each song, you will be able to identify "Amy Song" or "Emily Song." Emily's song follow a more traditional folk pattern, while Amy ventures off more into rock and punk sounds.

Does it work? Yes and no. The strength of The Indigo Girls has always been their voices melded in stimulating harmonies. Although a few songs are reminicent of their old sound, on most of the tracks it feels more like the girls are just singing back up vocals for each other.

The Indigo Girls and Politics

The Indigo Girls may have aged, but they have not mellowed. The album opens with Emily's "Pendulum Swinger," a feminist tome infused with anger. She even uses the "F" word--not feminist, the four-letter one. Amy adds a few issues of her own like disappearing farmland in "They Won't Have Me," and contradictions that come with making money in "Money Made You Mean."

But don't worry about being beaten over the head. As always, it's the strenght of song writing and musical craft that carries this Indigo Girls album.

It's all Good

It's not all preaching to on this album, though. The Indigo Girls have always written beautiful love songs and this album is no different. What is different is the number of love songs written by Amy Ray. From "Three County Highway":

It's been a warm winter and a cold spring
everywhere I've been has felt wrong to me.
So put your head on my heart and lay down in the crook of my arm.
Everything's okay, I've been found again...

And of course Emily Saliers is the queen of love songs. A stand out is "Fly Away:"

For the birds of prey who wreck your nest
Twice your size steal your best
They set out on this course of your collision
I am a stop along your way
I am the words you'll never say...

The Girls at their Best

The stand out song on the whole album is "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate" with a guest appearance by Pink. She must be paying the Girls back for appearing on her "Dear Mr. President" anti-Bush song. (One of the best protest songs of our times, I might add.)

Emily has always had a great gift for penning a love song and "I Believe in Love," is more of a love song to the world.

I still believe despite our differences that what we have's enough
And I believe in you and I believe in love

After twenty years, I have to wonder how many more years the Indigo Girls have left in them. Especially when Amy sings:

One day I'm gonna make it up to you,
one day we're gonna laugh instead of cry.
One day I'm coming home to stay, it's true
and baby, that's the last ticket I'm ever gonna buy

I have always said that the Indigo Girls are best live in concert. Don't miss the chance to see this out lesbian duo if they come to your town.