Overheard on the BC Walkway: "Apparently, people think Dar Williams is cool." Apparently, people are right. At the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro tonight, you can experience Williams for yourself.
With her quirky blend of mellow soul, sharp insight, sarcastic spice and slyly subversive lyrics, Dar Williams has tickled the fancies of schoolgirls and superwomen alike. Her first album, The Honesty Room, grew from underground favorite to college dorm staple. It's best song was the hummable "When I Was a Boy," a chronicle of tomboy childhood traded for training bras).
After that came Mortal City, a trademark of many New England girlhoods. The album's last song, "As Cool As I Am," is an anthem to insecurity that ends with William's airy soprano soaring as she sings, "And he goes, if I believed that stuff, I'd say that woman had a halo / And I look out say, yeah, she's really blonde... / I don't know what you see / I want somebody who sees me." By sticking social messages into humorous, catchy tunes, Mortal City helped teach a generation that it's okay to be reflective and pissed off. Williams gets cheesy at times, sure, but she can also be exciting and even inspirational.
On her new album, The Green World, Williams expands her beautifully jagged sound. You can expect to hear a fair bit of it played tonight. As she inches closer to thirty, Williams has gained more sway with young audiences. And though some are quick to dismiss her, her voice confounds all doubters. She can simultaneously jolt and relax, rounding stories with humor and harmonious open fifths.
For those who can't make it tonight, you can catch Williams at Millennium Music in Brightleaf this afternoon at 1pm.
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