It's a tough world out there. It's the age of Britney and Madonna, the flying lip-lock, the manufactured attitude. It's a time when mediocrity can triumph and good isn't necessarily rewarded. There's always a reason not to go on, not to believe any more. As a human, Catie Curtis knows that. As an artist, Catie Curtis feels that. And with this extraordinary new album, she presents us a manifesto at once inspiring and heart-stoppingly brave: we go on, we give it our all because the belief itself is what makes us human. From the first, anthemic organ punch of the leadoff track, Saint Lucy, Catie stakes her ground, ready to stand and deliver. The song is a bravura performance, a dazzling sleight of hand; an artistic tour-de-force about artistic doubt itself. 'Saint Lucy is the patron saint of blindness,' says Curtis, 'and to me she serves as a pretty apt metaphor for that inner search we're on.' When we're in a society where crassness is held up as an attribute, how does one live a life, or make a career while trying to offer something better? By making a record like DREAMING IN ROMANCE LANGUAGES. Julie Wolf, heartbeat of multiple recordings and tours by Ani DiFranco and Laura Love (herself a character in Saint Lucy) anchors the groove with infectious keyboard textures. The propulsive mandolin of Jimmy Ryan provides gorgeous counterpoint. Backing vocals are by Boston's best: Mark Erelli, Deb Talan, Jennifer Kimball and Kris Delmhorst. It is no easy task to mix anthemic rock rhythms, dark, heart-worn ballads and giddy pop, but Curtis -a folk-pop goddess according to the New Yorker- does so with disarming ease. She's a master of the metaphor so subtle you don't realize what she's up to until you find yourself looking at the place you (and she) just were from some entirely new perspective. Curtis has an uncanny grace at seizing a specific object, a tiny moment and making it a tipping point in the lives of her characters. In Deliver Me, her angels - those most sadly abused of deities - are hardly the stuff of homilies, they're fallen and broken, soaking in the muddy river, yet they manage to deliver their (secular) redemption nonetheless. 'I'd say I write pretty straightforward, emotional and hopefully intelligent songs,' shrugs Curtis. Given what passes for sex these days, its about as unsexy as you can get. The best artists always undersell themselves. Over the course of five studio albums and extensive touring, Curtis has developed a rapturous following and an enviable reputation as an artist unafraid to grow, to collaborate, to take chances. Her avid fans are a testament to that, as well as the frequent appearance of her songs on television (Felicity, Dawsons Creek, Chicago Hope, others). And a film documentary on Curtis, Tangled Stories is set for release in 2004. Yes, it's a tough world. One where you may wake up dreaming in romance languages but soon find your hopes dashed, your dreams quashed. But with her new album Catie Curtis gives us a soundtrack by which to fight the good fight; she gives us the tools to stay human during brutal times.

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