Razor & Tie

With 2010’s Many Great Companions, Dar Williams put a ribbon and a bow on one phase of her career, repackaging favorite tracks and newly recording others, and In the Time of Gods gives off an undeniable sense of new beginnings. While Williams’ writing and performing style hasn’t significantly altered – she’s still a classic wordsmith brandishing guitar – there is replenishment and urgency to these songs. Williams
has described the album, rife with metaphors of Greek mythology – as per the title – as having “a grown up fairytale feeling,” and each track acutely reveals her lyrical and compositional depth. A few stand out as special, however. The
spare, piano-driven “I Will Free Myself” frames a particularly naked vocal performance, while others, including the opening “I Am the One Who Will Remember,” “The Light and the Sea” and “Crystal Creek” are among the most thought-provoking, tuneful songs Williams has written to date.