Coming into her own as a distinctive songwriting personality, Dani Linnetz emerges as an empowered and confident artist on The Milk. Where she was just finding her stylistic footing on previous releases, here Linnetz displays an impressive confidence and control of her craft, having fully harnessed the strengths of her considerable vocal gifts and mastered the dynamic of stripped-down songwriting. Powerful in its singularity, these songs are deceptively simple, with little more than a strummed acoustic guitar, bass, and drums, and Linnetz's soulful vocals carrying the highly melodic mix. Abounding with minor chord changes and gorgeously multi-tracked vocals, the sound is live and warm, perfectly suited for the no-frills arrangements. Similarly, Linnetz's voice as a songwriter is much more apparent, as she catalogues a series of past and present grievances, yet skillfully avoids painting herself as the stereotypical jaded female. Still, an understated sadness saturates the atmosphere of her songwriting, adding a distinct gravity to the wonderfully realized melodies that return on nearly every track. Ultimately neither genre-bending nor genre-defining, Dani Linnetz, nonetheless, emerges as one of the leading lights of female singer/songwriter movement.
© Matt Fink /TiVo