Little Plastic Castle
Dubbed one of the 25 "most anticipated albums of 1998" by Alternative Press, Ani's tenth solo album Little Plastic Castle hit the streets just as Living In Clip made its way onto many critic's best-of-1997 lists. Ani returned to one of her favorite places to record—the live-in studio called the Congress House in Austin, Texas. In this relaxed setting she commented, "This album seemed to happen more organically than earlier studio releases." Ani is joined by drummer Andy Stochansky and bassist Jason Mercer who played with her on her 1997 tours, as well as bassist Sara Lee who toured with Ani in 1996. LPC also prominently features outside musicians, drummer Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Indigo Girls), and the horn section composed of three Austin session musicians who add flavor to "Little Plastic Castle" and "Deep Dish." In addition to these guests is the distinguished trumpeter Jon Hassell from Los Angeles, an avant-garde composer who has worked with such diverse figures as Brian Eno, LaMonte Young, Talking Heads and k.d. lang. Jon provides the sustained subtle solo on the 14-minute final track "Pulse." The Grammy Awards committee selected "Glass House" for Ani's third nomination in the Best Rock Performance – Female category. Filled with all of the humor and irony that it takes to get through the day, Ani remains timely and timeless. "A serious expansion of [DiFranco's] musical palette, as though she's thrown open the windows to let the light in and discovered whole new worlds waiting there, new surroundings for her blunt, challenging poetry." - PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
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Little Plastic Castle was a fishbowl concept album, with DiFranco performing her own self-examination under public scrutiny.