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100

NOW Magazine

With this single self-produced masterstroke, Alela Diane has effectively shaken off all the ill-fitting labels of “new weird America” and “freak folk” and given notice that a warmly expressive and unique voice has arrived with stories to tell.

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Paste Magazine

Like "The Pirate's Gospel," her cruelly unheralded 2006 debut, To Be Still is a staggering meditation on the idea of home in its many forms, and shares its predecessor's knowing heart--young, but already familiar with the tugging weights of time, family and love.

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musicOMH.com

Melodically, too, To Be Still is both more sophisticated, more confident, and, above all, more convincing (if encountered in a less than fan-like frame of mind, the previous album could appear more than a little monotonous).

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Observer Music Monthly

The banjos and root-tootin' bass might seem overly reverential but there's something comforting in her landscapes of small-town America.

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The Guardian

The result: something greater than the sum of its parts, and one of this year's lovelier albums.

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Uncut

To Be Still is a quantum leap from its predecessor, and one which establishes Alela Diane as a significant figure in contemporary Americana.

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Pitchfork

Working with material hog-tied to the past and performed with traditional trappings puts Diane at some risk for creative stagnation and worse--the kind of anonymity and irrelevance enjoyed by vast swathes of the contemporary folk universe. To Be Still avoids these traps thanks to Diane's spectacular voice and, well, the little, mostly indescribable things.

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Prefix Magazine

The poetry on To Be Still is sometimes a bit too delicate for my taste, but the songs show off much more than words alone. They display a quirky vocal talent and songwriting skill.

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Mojo

A spectacular step forward. [Mar 2009, p.111]

Spin

It's difficult to sound this vintage without coming off as contrived, but Alela Diane, her guitarist/producer father, and assorted friends tap into folk archetypes that are often opaquely generalized but always disarmingly pure.

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PopMatters

To Be Still is beautiful and subtly splintered and cathartic in an honestly incomplete way. And it is, finally, that rare kind of album: one worth getting close to.

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Austin Chronicle

Toward the end, the gentle folk trot through mountain passes, creeks, and farms starts to get tedious, but Diane has a stellar voice that would fit in Nashville, North Carolina, or Nevada City.

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Under The Radar

This is gorgeous Americana from an artist who has already garnered a dedicated following in Europe. [Winter 2009, p.78]

New Musical Express

Her pipes can still be transportational, but mostly they deliver nice, docile music to stroke cats to.

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Q Magazine

At her best, on the eerie 'Every Path,' she's mesmeric enough to lure ships onto rocks, but come the inevitable 'Later...With Jools Holland' appearance, older viewers may be forgiven for thinking Dolores O'Riordan has changed dramatically. [Mar 2009, p.96]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.7 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Max E. gave it a10:
Sublime.

Evan notimportant gave it a10:
beautiful album! a real natural progression from "Pirates Gospel." It has a much more folksy/bluegrass feel... GENIOUS.. btw she's a way cool to, met her!

Kurt C. gave it a9:
An exceptional follow up to her self-released debut from a few years ago. This new one is noticeably higher in recording quality with the addition of a backing-band, all of which help to make Diane's songs more solid, grooving, and overall more accessible (not that her early songs weren't, but who doesn't like a steady beat and bass in the background?). So far, the stand-out album of 2009.

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