Folksingers get a bad rap these days. There’s that whole patchouli/granola girl-with-guitar stereotype that’s often not far from the mark. Then there’s New York singer/songwriter Dar Williams-yes, she strums an acoustic guitar and sings plaintive, poetic tunes, but where most folkies often fall prey to diary-entry syndrome, Williams has forged a 12-year career by taking a long, hard look around her and offering up a clear-eyed perspective on the social and political through song.
Beloved by fans (especially Canadian ones) for her warm music and engaging, amusing live show (her between-song banter is always priceless), over the years Williams has moved from a more solo acoustic style to incorporating a full-band sound on her latest album, My Better Self.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that My Better Self deals with struggles both internal and external-Williams, a longtime social activist who is known for her outspokenness on matters from human rights to ecology issues, found herself writing about her profound disgust about the state of her nation. Even the cover songs selected for the album, from Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” (recast in a more feminine light as a duet with folk icon Ani DiFranco) to Neil Young’s pointed “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere,” highlight a sense of alienation.

We caught up with the ever-busy Williams (aside from music, she’s mom to toddler Stephen, who was trying to steal his mother’s attention from the backseat, and she penned a children’s novel last year) as she was driving back to New York prior to her visit here next week.

Tabassum Siddiqui: This record seems clearly influenced by what’s going on politically in the States-the song “Empire” in particular is a rather undisguised metaphor for U.S. foreign policy.

Dar Williams: I started writing “Empire” in the fall of 2003, and then finished it after the 2004 election, and then decided to do “Comfortably Numb.” You walk outside and take a temperature reading of your life, and there was a lot of nasty weather. There’s something deeply uncaring and wasteful about our government right now. The climate is unavoidable for Americans right now.

TS: What’s your response to those that think artists shouldn’t ‘get political?’

DW: Mockery is a tool that’s used to silence people and silence viewpoints. There’s another word for those that silence artists-fascism. It’s fascism. Someone once told me, “A lot of people don’t want messages.” It was meant as a veiled threat to me. I’d say now more than ever, it’s time for people to sharpen their wits and wake up the language and wake up the commentary and hope we can get rid of this criminal government.

TS: Do you have hope that the situation will get better? Do you think there’s going to be a turning point?

DW: I think we think that the hope is going to be the Internet and cable, but those things mean money, and it can’t be a money-only solution; we’ve got to figure out how to make it populist again.

TS: You seem to have a soft spot for Canada, and your Canadian fans adore you in return.

DW: I love Canada! I even wrote a song called “O Canada Girls.” I have a certain poetic appreciation for the Canadian landscape and the culture I have encountered. And then there’s the Citizen Dar side that sees there’s more arts in the schools, people are engaged in more political/social dialogue, and there’s a strong environmental ethic, no matter how you slice it.

Dar Williams plays the Church of the Redeemer Dec. 7. Tickets ($25) at the usual outlets.