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Avg: 4.0 (248 ratings)
- Date Released: February 17, 2009
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Label: Rough Trade / Beggars Group
An old friend of Joanna Newsom's pens a gorgeous, inimitable modern folk album
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We Say...
Alela Diane Menig was never destined for a day job. Born in the tiny bohemian enclave of Nevada City, California to musician parents, Diane's high school best friend was Joanna Newsom, who encouraged her to sing. Her first album, The Pirate's Gospel, was entirely self-financed, each sleeve individually hand-sewn by the girl herself. Call her a hippie; she'll take it as a compliment.
This follow-up, largely composed in a shack in Nevada City and recorded in her current home of Portland, Oregon, dresses Diane's ghostly-but-strident voice in warm tones, provided by banjo, guitar, steel guitar, bass and strings. The most obvious influence on To Be Still is Sandy Denny-era Fairport Convention, and it's a measure of the strength of her best songs — the title track, "White As Diamonds," the psych rock-flecked "My Brambles, Age Old Blue," which features backing vocals from legendary folk veteran Michael Hurley — that Diane stands up to the comparison. Lyrically, her songs are obsessed with the natural world; the likes of "Dry Grass And Shadows," "The Alder Trees" and "The Ocean" perfectly fit a voice that, like Newsom's, has an easy grace, occasional yodels catching the high notes.
To Be Still doesn't possess Newsom's edge or originality, but it's the perfect album to cozy up to on a melancholy Sunday, full of melody and texture, led by a voice to fall in love with. This is an extraordinary period for American folk music, and this is another example of beautiful, relevant, youthful music hewn from great traditions.
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| 01. |  |
Dry Grass & Shadows |
3:14 |
|
| 02. | |
White As Diamonds |
3:38 |
|
| 03. | |
Age Old Blue |
4:02 |
|
| 04. | |
To Be Still |
5:29 |
|
| 05. | |
Take Us Back |
4:45 |
|
| 06. | |
The Alder Trees |
3:30 |
|
| 07. | |
My Brambles |
5:01 |
|
| 08. | |
The Ocean |
3:45 |
|
| 09. | |
Every Path |
4:14 |
|
| 10. | |
Tatted Lace |
4:49 |
|
| 11. | |
Lady Divine |
5:12 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 47:39 Total Length
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Credits
- Michael Hurley - Harmony Vocals // Nina Gerber - Guitar // Pete Grant - Pedal Steel // Thom Monahan - Mixing // Lorraine Gervais - Design // Lorraine Gervais - Layout Design // Rich Stanmyre - Bass (Upright) // Adam Selzer - Producer // Neal Morgan - Percussion // Luke Janela - Cello // Dan Elkan - Piano // Dan Elkan - Producer // Matt Bauer - Banjo // Matt Bauer - Harmony Vocals // Otto Hauser - Percussion // Mariee Sioux - Photography // Alela Diane - Guitar (Acoustic) // Alela Diane - Guitar // Alela Diane - Guitar (Electric) // Alela Diane - Vocals // Alela Diane - Whistle (Human) // Alela Diane - Producer // Alela Diane - Design // Alela Diane - Photography // Alela Diane - Layout Design // Alina Estelle Hardin - Harmony Vocals // Tom Bevitori - Bass // Tom Menig - Guitar // Tom Menig - Mandolin // Tom Menig - Xylophone // Tom Menig - Guitar (12 String) // Tom Menig - Producer // Tom Menig - Engineer // Tom Menig - Harmony Vocals // Tom Menig - Mixing // Rondi Soule - Violin // Craig Thomas - Wurlitzer
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