By David Freeland

In early 2003 Natalie Merchant announced that she would be leaving her longtime record label, Elektra (a branch of Time Warner), in order to market and produce her own work. Five years later, Merchant’s decision feels prescient: Scores of name artists have since followed her, in a hegira which has reflected the large-scale decline of the corporate music industry.

But Merchant has always been an independent spirit. Since leaving 10,000 Maniacs and recording her first solo album, Tigerlily (1995), she has taken a languorous journey through folk music (2003’s The House Carpenter’s Daughter), poetry and visual art, while maintaining her status as a reluctant and somewhat abstracted pop icon. To wit, she has not performed in New York within the past four years, and for this reason her forthcoming shows at Hiro Ballroom (priced at a reasonable $45) promise to approach the status of cultural event.

If there can be said to be a unifying thread to the diverse strands of Merchant’s career, it is social activism. Her support of organizations such as Amnesty International is well documented, while the latest recorded project she has produced and conceived, Give Us Your Poor (Appleseed), pairs established stars with singers and writers who are, or once have been, homeless. One standout track, “There Is No Good Reason,” was written by a 15-year-old girl and offers an unsettling first-person account of the experience of survival: “Living on the streets is no easy life/This problem I have been through more than twice.”

Wisely, Merchant approaches the song as a group enterprise, sharing the microphone with singers like neglected 1960s soul man Mighty Sam McClain. When she does sing, however, the voice is resonant and strong, with a dark undercurrent that seems to counteract the airiness of some of her younger performances from years ago. Merchant’s enunciation, never one of her strong points as a vocalist, has also grown sharper and more distinct. In the end, we are left with the impression of an uncompromising artist who has used her time away from the corporate behemoth to draw out and amplify the most interesting aspects of her personality. Beyond the appeal of her exquisite voice, Merchant’s music now carries an inescapable sense of purpose. 

Although ticket availability promises to be extremely limited (an additional show on January 8 has been added), the Hiro Ballroom appearances will be worth catching in order to hear Merchant’s new material, much of which she will be previewing, and to receive an inspiring lesson on how today’s musicians have discovered the power of independence.    

Jan. 4-10. Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel, 371 W. 16th St. (at 9th Ave.), 212-242-4300; 7:30, $45.