September 06, 2003 05:08 PM

Her Art's Not Built Like That

by Miranda Jones

Maybe it doesn't qualify as "music" - although it's musical - but Alix Olson's sophmore effort, Independence Meal, is power-packed with rhythm, meaning, and soul. Olson is a spoken word artist - you may have caught her performance on HBO's broadcast of Russell Simmons's Def Poetry Jam. As with all spoken word artists, the words are the heart of the matter. Olson infuses her words with rhyme and syncopation. She laces them with truth and humor and more than a little bit of sex appeal. Her words speak about politics, art, activism, and what it means to be a woman in our world. Her words excite, inspire, and conspire to bring her audience to simple truths.

Where this CD excels, however, is not only in the words Olson delivers, but in the power of her delivery. Not all recordings of spoken word can convey the dynamic presentation of those words when spoken live by the poet - and, to be honest, Independence Meal doesn't match the power and charisma of Alix Olson performing in person - but this recording, combined as it is with great guitar licks and subtle rhythms, comes close to capturing a lot of the energy of Olson's live act. For that reason alone you should check it out. I think you'll find, however, that once Olson's words reach your ears you'll have a dozen new reasons for listening to the CD - and for catching her act in person as soon as you can.