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Apr 12, 2011If Diane's songs are more accessible, they're still not easy, creating the Inception-like sensation of wandering around in someone's overheated brain, where urgency and a lack of clarity intertwine to disorienting effect.
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Q MagazineMay 18, 2011While the songwriting stays high, it's her strong but sensitive voice, with its lonesome hint of yodeling, that captivates. [May 2011, p.115]
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Apr 12, 2011This is a vivid selection of songs underscored by a bittersweet poetry.
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Apr 12, 2011This self-titled album gives the impression that they're constantly aware of holding back. Such restraint is ultimately unwarranted: Diane is a strong enough presence as a singer and as a songwriter that she can more than hold her own.
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Apr 12, 2011The voice (Joni Mitchell meets Anna Calvi), is as tough and tender as before but the music now acts as a bouncy counterpoint to songs with lyrics such as "death is a hard act to follow", blurring the line between unsettling and uplifting nicely.
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Apr 12, 2011Backed by a solid country-rock band (including two guitarists who claim co-writing credits on more than half the songs), her new sound is perhaps more indebted to Nashville than the West Coast's folk scene, but it sounds its best in the neutral territory between both camps, neither subscribing to nor rebelling against any single genre.
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Apr 12, 2011Wild Divine ain't 'Kid A', but it's hardly musical stagnation.
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Apr 12, 2011She has toned down the extreme vocal expressions found on previous records and settled into more of a groove. That's a shame, because while each track has merit, Diane needs to add more variety to make the album always compelling.
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MojoMay 18, 2011There was mmuch to anticipate, but it falls short of the promise. [May 2011, p.114]
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UncutApr 13, 2011Occasionally, though, the songs resemble fragments of poetry, signifying little more than unfocused emotions, with Diane undecided about whether to be pretty or strange. [May 2011, p.82]
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Apr 12, 2011Musically, her new direction is colourful, with electric guitar brazen against pedal steel and slide, retro keyb oards shimmering next to bluegrass-hued banjo and accordion. But the result is surprisingly lightweight.
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Apr 12, 2011Wild Divine finds Diane attempting new approaches to production and arrangement and should perhaps be seen as a transitional album. At the moment, the performances from within her comfort zone remain the most effective.