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Puddle Dive is something of a transition album for DiFranco: she's (gasp!) smiling on the cover, she's got accompaniment on nearly every track, her creed is clearly stated for the first time ("I sing sometimes like my life is at stake / 'Cause you're only as loud as the noises you make" [on "My IQ"]), and there are even some songs here that find joy, even if it's just for a moment ("Names and Dates and Times," "4th of July"). There's also, to a much greater extent than on previous albums, the frenetic guitar strum (accomplished with taped-on plastic fingernails) that is one of the hallmarks of DiFranco's maturing sound. It's the strum that complements DiFranco's stop-start, breathy vocals so well, and the combination of the two has always served to distinguish her from the hordes of folkies on the coffeehouse circuit (that is, if DiFranco's tattoos, piercings, and haircuts hadn't already done the trick). On Puddle Dive her maturing song craft (check out the bluesy "Back Around") and increasing consistency put her even further ahead of the pack. --Randy Silver