Ani DiFranco's independent spirit is admirable. Dilate is her eighth self-released album since 1990, but while most devoutly "political" artists stress polemics, DiFranco stresses music. She can come on tough, but she's at her best when she picks somber guitar phrases and lets her voice trail off into a whisper. Her self-deprecating humor prevents her personal songs from becoming sappy or self-righteous. "I use my dress to wipe up my drink/I care less and less what people think," she sings in the title track.

Songs like "Done Wrong" and "Adam and Eve" benefit from their atmospheric production. "Napoleon" features a warmly overdriven guitar and points up DiFranco's vocal gift – her voice is scratchy and intimate rather than strident. Best of all is "Superhero," a perfect pop song. DiFranco is one of the few who make subversion sound like fun. (RS 736)

ROB O'CONNOR