Perhaps it’s due to Carlos Nino’s Spaceways Radio Show playing CSN&Y and Buffalo Springfield that that I fancied a bit of country flavoured folk and To Be Still fits the bill perfectly.

Alela Diane Menig was born in Navada City and is the typical underground American singer and songwriter associated with the psych folk scene and has been described as “campfire gospel”; “if you imagine a continuum from the Carter family to Gillian Welch, ending up near Joanna Newsom”. I think that’s a bit much to take in myself but all you need to know is that she’s got a crystal clear voice with an imaginative lyrical mind.

I must admit I love the slide guitar on the opener ‘Dry Grass & Shadows’ as alt-country (like Hang Wangford without the misery) Well I say without the misery, perhaps without the obvious misery as the chorus goes “and some hearts are ghosts settling down in dark waters, just as silt grows heavy and drowns with the stones”. And whilst Hank is a whilstin’ man, the album finishes of with the gentle ‘Lady Divine’ (with a nice bit of whilstin’ at the end) but what do you make of “songs whistled thorough white teeth, do scuff the day”?

She’s got a bit of a thing about teeth, back at ‘Dry Grass & Shadows” she sings:
Thinking I’d like to look at your teeth,
Lined up in perfect rows,
A maze of children feeding orchard trees,
Where the flat lands stretch inside your mouth,
And when you laugh all the star thistles stumble out,
The flat lands stretch inside your mouth,
And when you laugh all the star-thistles stumble out.

‘White As Diamonds’ were she gives us a example of her folksy vocal range backed by fiddle, acoustic guitar and drums; reminiscent of 18th Day Of May but what an image, “I’ve known mornings as white as diamonds”…”just as slit grows heavy and drowns with the stones” As an aside, I met Ben Phillipson (former vocals, guitar and mandolin in 18th Day Of May) this week and he tells me his new band is busy rehearsing for some forthcoming gigs so stay tuned!)

The title track, ‘To Be Still’ is perhaps the best of the lot in a minimal Gram Parsons/ type way; great slide again but you can’t ignore the mournful ‘The Ocean’ or ‘My Brambles’ or the wandering ‘Every Path’.

Alela will be travelling soon and she’s so suited to the Larmer Tree site where she’s appearing at the End Of The Road Festival in September (with amongst many others, Gilles Peterson’s favourite country rocker, Steve Earl) but before that she’ll be touring in the States in February/March before reaching Europe (see below).

Is To Be Still a match for Pirate’s Gospel? Easily and sure to be a candidate for Rough Trade’s Album Of The Year 2009. This is going to be big!

Forthcoming Gigs:
25 March 2009 - The Sage, Gateshead
26 March 2009 - ABC2, Glasgow
27 March 2009 - Deaf Institute, Manchester
29 March 2009 - The Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
30 March 2009 - St Giles In The Fields, London www.stgilesonline.org
01 April 2009 - Aeronef, Lille
02 April 2009 - Cargo, Caen
03 April 2009 - Rail Theatre, Lyon
04 April 2009 - Laiterie, Strausbourg
06 April 2009 - Le Bataclan Paris
07 April 2009 - AB, Brussels
08 April 2009 - Paradiso, Amsterdam
09 April 2009 - Prinzenbar, Hamburg
11-13th September 2009 - End Of The Road Festival - Steve Earle, Efterklang, Alela Diane, Archie Bronson Outfit and many more at the Larmer Tree, Wiltshire www.larmertree.co.uk

Reviewed: Alela Diane - To Be Still (Names Records) Cat. No: NAMES33CD Release date: 16th February 2009
Tracklisting:
1 Dry Grass & Shadows (3:12)
2 White As Diamonds (3:36)
3 Ages Old Blue (4:00)
4 To Be Still (5:27)
5 Take Us Back (4:43)
6 The Alder Trees (3:28)
7 My Brambles (4:59)
8 The Ocean (3:43)
9 Every Path (4:12)
10 Tatted Lace (4:47)
11 Lady Divine (5:12)

Links
www.myspace.com/alelamusic
www.aleladiane.com
www.aleladiane.blogspot.com
www.lyricsandsongs.com/lyrics/ALELA_DIANE.html
www.roughtrade.com Pre-Order To Be Still
William Elliott Whitmore
www.myspace.com/namesrecords