My two favorite female singers, Elizabeth Elmore and Dar Williams, have the ability to capture a complete personality in a melody (whether it's a reflection of themselves or a fictional invention), and then to wrap their entire bodies within their pop songs. Elmore's songs with Sarge sweat with her sensuality, anger and energy, while Dar's music pulsates with the charm, humor, sincerity and passion that has made her the folk gal most likely to have a million suitors. You may not fully relate to them -- both love tofu, which makes them far from my ideal -- but it's impossible not to love them if your ears connect with their music in the same way mine do. I've played The Glass Intact and Honesty Room more than any other music I own, their joys made timeless by the great melodies and flowing feeling. Dar's third solo record, The End of Summer, unleashed the first of hopefully many fantastic Kinks covers ("Better Things", a favorite song from her youth -- and mine!) while also displaying more pared-down and focused songwriting. Her pop sensibilities were still intact, and the album included "What Do You Hear In Those Sounds?", one of her best originals, but it disappointed as a whole. "Teenagers Kick Our Butts" was too cutesy-gimmicky, while the title track was too bland. It might have been one of her more personal songs, but her attempts to create a classic-sounding folk ballad bled away too much of her personality.

The Green World shows that Dar has found the perfect balance for her songs. She no longer dilutes the intoxicating power of her Dar-ness ("You don't know a person like me/ I could sell your songs to Nike") in songs like "I Wanna Be Your Yoko Ono", but still manages to accomplish her aim of crafting music that's simpler, more direct and filled with emotional spaces big enough for her fans to enter. The songs have become less about Dar, or what Dar thinks, and more about the feelings she and her listeners share -- shown against the evocative and tasteful musical backdrop provided by her band. She still isn't as succinct as Cole Porter, but I doubt that she wants to be. This is about as perfect a blend of personal thought and universal experience as we can hope to find. We get smart lyrics ("And a God Descended"), honest slow songs ("Spring Street") and infectious pop ("Playing to the Firmament") that makes us feel good, regardless of the occasion. With the exception of her first single, "What Do You Love More Than Love?", which sounds too similar to prior Dar songs, this Green World succeeds in spades. It should be perfunctory listening for anyone who's interested in contemporary pop, and in the directions in which singer-songwriters can take and transform this most worthy of genres.