Ani Difranco has reinvented herself once again.

On her 18th studio release titled “Reprieve,” she has once again found a new musical package to house her special brand of poetry and social commentary. And it once again is a match made in heaven.

The music by enlarge is calm, almost serene, which is a marked contrast between her confrontational lyrics.

The lyrics on this album are an interesting combination of personal and political. The first track on the album, “hypnotized,” illustrates the new style as it starts out with an acoustic bass that is more jazz than rock.

The bass mixes with the guitar on the track. The lyrics are personal about a failed relationship (that probably should have never started) but more about a looking back and re-evaluating the lack of bitterness makes this song appealing.

“And you were no picnic/you were no prize/but you had just enough pathos to keep my hypnotized,” and three versus later “And I was no picnic/I was no prize/but I had just enough sweetness/to keep you hypnotized.”

“Nicotine,” the fourth track deftly displays Difranco’s voice, the unique intonation where people ask, “this is Ani right?”

Her inflection is great with just the hint of sarcasm that brings the lyrics into light. “I watch you sometimes/from oh so far away/but I can’t forget you/or anything you say.”

Track five, “decree” is the most blatantly political message on the album.

The song is about the destruction of the society and “morals” of the country and the lack of direction of science.

“Still, everywhere fools/are squinting into microscopes/researching cells/trying to figure out a way we can all live in hell.”

“Reprieve,” track nine, is a spoken word piece that weaves together the events at Hiroshima, winds itself around feminism and the idea that giving birth is as radical of an act as anyone could ever hope to be.

This is a consummate Difranco album- impassioned, poetic and musically interesting.

This is a must have for any fan and while there might be some better albums to start your collection, this is as good of a place as any to dive in.