Indigo Girls - 'Poseidon and the Bitter Bug'

Indigo Girls Emily Saliers and Amy Ray have been playing together for 20 years, and Poseidon and the Bitter Bug is their 13th album. By now, they've learned how to anticipate each other's artistic direction and that long-nurtured synergy shows on Poseidon.

'Poseidon and the Bitter Bug' Acoustic

It's an interesting creative statement to record the same album twice—once with a full band and a second time where the songs are presented in their most stripped-down acoustic version. Indigo Girls started their career as an acoustic duo, so songs that focus entirely around their intricate harmonies and a slow-swelling chunky guitar strum are really their greatest strength. So, it's not surprising that the acoustic disc resonates a little more.

Ray and Saliers have, through the years, become incredibly adept at the range of sounds and emotions that can be communicated on wooden instruments, and it's impressive to hear how loud and rocking they can turn these songs on their own without electronics ("Ghost of the Gang" | purchase/download), before dropping back to a softer, more earnest near-whisper ("I'll Change" | purchase/download).

'Poseidon and the Bitter Bug' Electric

However, there are indeed things a full band can do that an unplugged acoustic duo just can't pull off. There are layers and sounds that add delicious texture to tunes like "Digging For Your Dream" (purchase/download) and "Sugar Tongue" (purchase/download).

What's impressive about the Indigo Girls is that, when they add a full band and extra instrumentation, they do so tactfully without sacrificing any of the emotion or intent of the acoustic song. And yet, the full band disc leaves me wondering if it's necessary to add all those instruments when they don't really change the song that much. Given the option, I find myself gravitating toward the acoustic album simply because the full band disc isn't different enough to give me anything I can't find on the acoustic album. Luckily, the songs on Poseidon and the Bitter Bug are so good that there's nothing about which to be truly disappointed.

So Does It Work?

On their last few records, the Indigo Girls have seemed to be a little more tucked in their differing styles: Saliers' songs are reserved and emotional ballads, while Ray's contributions rock harder. It's hard to tell whether this was the direction they were going creatively or if it's something their labels were encouraging. Poseidon and the Bitter Bug sees their collaboration back to a more balanced existence. It no longer feels like a musical tennis match and the songs benefit from the creative cohesion.

Clearly there will be a number of hard-core Indigo Girls fans who will love both the electric and acoustic versions, but most folks will gravitate toward one or the other. It's fun to hear the experimentation on tunes like "Driver Education," which Ray resurrected from her solo career to re-present here in two new ways (acoustic | electric). The good news is, whether fans gravitate to the acoustic version or the full band version, they will have an excellent collection of songs to uncover.