There are solo albums and then there are solo albums. On her latest disc Educated Guess, alt-folk singer-songwriter Ani takes the DIY concept to the limit -- she wrote, played, sang, recorded, produced and mixed every note. Depending on how you feel about Ani, this is either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

If you've been missing the Ani of days gone by, with her percussive acoustic guitar and personal lyrics, the stripped-down, loose approach of Educated Guess will likely strike you as a welcome return to the sound and style of her earlier, more self-sufficient work (albeit with a bit more sonic flair in the spatial arrangements and production).

If, however, you dug the jazzy, funky trails she blazed on her recent band albums, these warm, loosely homespun tracks may be a little laissez-faire for your liking, even though some do betray the influence of those groovy discs.

If you're like us, though, you might see Educated Guess as a nice balancing act -- an unpretentious, quietly satisfying disc that finds Ani honouring her past while attempting to redefine herself for the future.

Track Listing
1. Platforms
2. Swim
3. Educated Guess
4. Origami
5. Bliss Like This
6. True Story Of What Was
7. Bodily
8. You Each Time
9. Animal
10. Grand Canyon
11. Company
12. Rain Check
13. Akimbo
14. Bubble