I have been an Indigo Girls fan almost right from the start and have loved every minute of it. I have found, though, over the years, that it's always taken me a hearing or two to really get into the album. Not true with Become You. This is the first album that I've fallen in love with on the first hearing. It is simply amazing.

Emily has done it again, pouring her heart and soul into songs that are lyrically and melodically beautiful and, at times, mournful and politically charged. Amy delivers her heartfelt political statements in seamless songs that show her ever increasing musical maturity and deepening philosophy of life, while never letting you forget it's really her behind the mic.

If you're a Girls fan and haven't purchased this CD yet, RUN!, don't walk to your nearest available merchant and demand a copy. You won't be disappointed.

I've been an Indigo Girls fan for years, but I wasn't as fond of their last album, COME ON NOW SOCIAL. I felt it lacked focus and was community-oriented at the cost of quality. BECOME YOU, though, is a different story. It's always fun to hear artists return to their musical roots, but the Indigo Girls did more than that on this album. Amy Ray, in particular, took a quantum leap in songwriting skill on this record; songs like "Become You", "Moment of Forgiveness", and "Yield" are miles ahead of anything else she's ever written. Amy's increasing prowess is visible in Epic's selection of her songs for radio. Before this, it was always Emily Saliers compositions like "Closer to Fine" and "Galileo" that became singles, while Ray's songs found more of a cult following among IG fans. Now Amy's getting the A&R nod, not that Emily's songs are slouching -- I thought Saliers took a similar songwriting leap on SHAMING OF THE SUN a few years ago, and now they're both writing at a terrifically high level, making BECOME YOU one of the best Indigo Girls albums in years, if not the best ever.

Let me start with this: the Indigo Girls have been a huge part of my growth as a young adult into an adult. "Swamp Ophelia" was one of my first CDs, and I loved it. I have all of their studio and live albums, several promo singles, and a few bootlegs. I've seen them in concert 10 times in the past few years.

I think this is one of their least satisfying efforts.

To be fair: there are some excellent songs here. Amy continues to impress me with her artistic growth and range of emotion. And Emily can still write ballads that tear at my heartstrings. My review here will focus on criticism.

But the truth is, this album is more of a rehashing of past successes than a true coming-home album.

I really liked Come On Now Social. Not at first, of course, but after a while, the complexity of the songs and their messages grew on me and rewarded me after repeat listening. And it's good to see excellent artists pushing themselves in new directions, even if they aren't always as successful as their original efforts. If it wasn't for experimental, risk-taking music, I don't know *what* we'd be listening to these days.

Despite her growth, Amy can't write new chord progressions. My favorite song on the album, "Become You," has a verse that sounds nearly identical to "Jonas & Ezekiel" from Rites. "Yield" recalls "Devotion" from the Retrospective. And there are more offenders. I guess that it's not really that important; after so many albums in the folk-rock genre, I-IV-V progressions are tempting. The chord progressions aren't the center of the music.

But my real qualm here is with how meek the material is. Emily's new tunes (especially Hope Alone and Collecting You) sound like 80's adult-contemporary hits. There's a thin line between touching emotion and mainstream, easy-listening cheese, and Emily crosses that line more than once on this album.

Moreover, Emily's metaphors are stretching a little thin these days. Take "Deconstruction" for example. When I heard it live last summer, I loved it. But after a listen or two, the imagery seems lackluster and contrived. "the trash truck making its way through the neighborhood ... we get to decide what we think is no good?" Please. It saddens me to hear lyrics such as these coming from the woman who wrote Ghost, Love Will Come to You, and Love's Recovery.

That's my two cents. Take it or leave it. Maybe it's because my musical tastes have changed that I don't like this album as much as I want to, but I'd prefer Swamp Ophelia with all its flaws to Become You any day.

I am a tremendous fan of the Indigo Girls, but have been let down by the past two albums to the point where I probably would not have purchased this album if it were not for the glowing reviews from other longtime fans on this site. Emily's songs are her best since her outstanding contributions on 'Swamp Ophelia', and you have to go all the way back to 'Rites of Passage' to find a consistent collection like this from Amy. If you have been dissatisfied with their recent work, do not hesitate to get this one!

I was not blown away by this album upon first hearing it. However, it slowly worked its magic on me and now this is one of my favorites from this formidable, talented duo. I like the Indigo Girls for their sheer songwriting, harmonizing, and musical skills. They're never dull, and willing to experiment and and try a new direction, which is artistically important. I don't consider myself an "acoustic-only Indigo Girls" or "hard-rock, experimental Indigo Girls" fan. I enjoy and respect all of their albums, though Rites of Passage, Swamp Ophelia, and Come On Now Social are definitely faves (along with Become You).
The best tracks on this release are Emily's poetic "Deconstruction" and gorgeous "Hope Alone" while Amy's "Bitterroot" and "Become You" are flawless. However you classify yourself in terms of Indigo Girls' musical styles, this album will not disappoint and features some of their most introspective, mature lyrics to date.