After over two decades in the business, Mary Chapin Carpenter has earned the right to self-indulgence; taking her world-weary, melodic voice to a minor indie label, she has once again enlisted the support of producer Matt Rollings and delivered a meandering collection of deeply personal, often political songs.

This courageous move has yielded mixed blessings. From the aftermath of 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, Carpenter takes the mantle of the singer-songwriter as provocateur. Attacking the industry 'exhorting their listeners/ to spit on the sinners' in her most explicit protest, the rousing ''On With the Song'', Carpenter rejects the patriotic fervency that saw the Dixie Chicks ostracized from mainstream country fan-bases for their apparently 'anti-American' comments. Title track ''The Calling'' and ''Why Shouldn't We?'' similarly explore issues of leadership and society with thoughtful intelligence, their contemplative melodies focusing not on the overtly political, but instead the spiritual conflicts shaping faith and social division.

Yet an album cannot be carried by dissent alone. With the rising tide of opposition to Bush's presidential direction, and even the Dixie Chick's recent triumph at the Grammy's, The Calling's political perspective seems somewhat dated: emerging well-worn and almost conventional for the genre. Away from the provocative topics, results are uneven. Softer moments such as the lilting ''Twilight'' fail to captivate, and when Carpenter does succeed, it is with more structured melodies and understated snapshots of ordinary life: fields 'where the grass grows 'round our knees' in ''We're All Right'' and the gentle refrain of ''Bright Morning Star'' evoking a lush reverie scene. The Calling should delight longtime fans, but may fail to enchant newcomers to her work.