Album: To Be Still [Digipak]

Song Title

Time

Dry Grass & Shadows

White as Diamonds

Age Old Blue

To Be Still

Take Us Back

Alder Trees, The

My Brambles

Ocean, The

Every Path

10)

Tatted Lace

11)

Lady Divine

Album: To Be Still [Digipak]

Song Title

Time

Dry Grass & Shadows

White as Diamonds

Age Old Blue

To Be Still

Take Us Back

Alder Trees, The

My Brambles

Ocean, The

Every Path

10)

Tatted Lace

11)

Lady Divine

Performer Notes

Personnel: Alela Diane (vocals, whistling, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Tom Menig (guitar, 12-string guitar, mandolin, xylophone); Nina Gerber (guitar); Matt Bauer (banjo); Rondi Soule (violin); Luke Janela (cello); Dan Elkan (piano); Craig Thomas (Wurlitzer organ); Rich Stanmyre (upright bass); Otto Hauser, Neal Morgan (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Tom Menig; Thom Monahan.
Recording information: Sun Dial Studios, Nevada City, CA; Type Foundry, Portland, OR.
Photographers: Mariee Sioux; Alela Diane.
Like THE PIRATE'S GOSPEL, her debut, TO BE STILL, the follow-up release from alternative folk artist Alela Diane, is an intimate, haunting affair that showcases her songwriting and singing skills. Focused chiefly on Diane's voice and acoustic guitar, TO BE STILL recalls both the classic female folk singers like Karen Dalton and the spookier, more associative dimensions of contemporary artists like Marissa Nadler and Nina Nastasia. But while her voice lilts and lulls, it's the poetry of her lyrics and their evocative narratives that make this sophomore effort truly shine.

Professional Reviews

Mojo (Publisher) (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "There is a rare charm and deep calmness on the album's 11 innocent but never naive tracks....A spectacular step forward."

Paste (magazine) (p.64) - "There's a powerful weariness to 25-year-old Alela Diane's voice as it dips and curls its way through her second album, woozy pedal steel glinting and shimmering all about her..."

Pitchfork (Website) - "The album's first single, `White as Diamond', best showcases her expanded musical ambitious and the record's pristine sound."

Clash (magazine) (p.96) - "[A] minor folk masterpiece, with delicate yet expansive instrumentation swooning underneath a voice that is achingly wistful and nothing short of jaw-dropping."

Uncut (magazine) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "This time the instrumental backing is more handsomely orchestrated, with each song given colour by the sparing addition of drums, bass, cello, pedal steel, banjo and fiddle."