To Be Still - Alela Diane
To Be Still Image
  • Summary: The California-born, Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter releases her follow-up to her debut album, "The Pirate’s Gospel."
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Her pipes can still be transportational, but mostly they deliver nice, docile music to stroke cats to.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. MaxE.
    10
    Sublime.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. Evannotimportant
    10
    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! Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. KurtC.
    9
    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. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
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