**1/2 Mary Gauthier

DIXIE KITCHEN

(RG)

Surly yet sympathetic, Mary Gauthier writes songs that are filled with folks who can't conform to societal norms and gender roles. In "Son" she remembers a neighbor's mistaking her for a boy when she was younger, and in "Skeleton Song" she sings from the perspective of a dying AIDS victim. Gauthier is a local transplant from Louisiana and the proprietor of a restaurant in the Back Bay that shares a name with this album. And like her cooking, her punchy songs are rooted in the traditions of Louisiana. Imagine an older, more country-inflected Ani DiFranco and you'll be on the right track.

-- Bruce Sylvester