by Darryl CaterLittle Plastic Castle posed an unusual challenge for Ani DiFranco. She released this record after spending a year promoting her first live CD (Living in Clip) by repeatedly admitting to reporters that her studio albums lack the vitality of her concert performances. Rock critics agreed en masse, and their praise for the live album helped to propel DiFranco to a new level of mainstream stardom -- but it also heightened the scrutiny on her next studio recording. Fortunately, she managed to dodge several of the pitfalls of her previous albums. Her excellent band had plenty of time to jell on the road, and their performances here are as tight, driven and intense as they've ever been. Vocally, DiFranco is somewhat less affected than on previous albums, where the unnatural isolation of the studio sometimes led her to unnatural mannerisms. Her songwriting, however, is not quite up to par. While her melodies have almost never been exactly catchy, they have usually been perfect vessels for her terrifically smart lyrics. This time, the lyrical tail seems to be wagging the melodic dog willy-nilly. That's especially damaging when her songs are wallowing too comfortably in angst ("Independence Day," "Glass House"). Nonetheless, this is the most creatively produced Ani DiFranco album to date, combining her distinctively frenetic acoustic fingerstyle with computer samples, dance rhythms, mariachi brass and full-band rock jams. The result is colorful -- almost cartoony -- but almost never overshadows the emotional content. When Jon Hassell contributes a gorgeous jazz trumpet solo on the album's final track (the 14-minute "Pulse"), it blends in so perfectly that one has to remind oneself that DiFranco is one of the biggest talents in folk music.