Serious Art

Alela Diane is one of those weird hippie folksters lumped carelessly under overlapping styles called psych folk/freak folk/New Weird America/naturalismo/etc. It’s easy to like these guys – their naïve hippie aesthetics are charming, nostalgic, and usually non-threatening. They hold the same melodic, lovey-dovey appeal that their forefathers from the ‘60s held. However, it is easy to get lost in this kind of music. After a couple months you may start to lose touch with reality – you might get bogged down with obscure ‘60s folkies that no one ever cared to listen when they were actually around or you might not realize the band you’re currently listening to is actually comically ridiculous. So I have to be wary when I start listening to musicians like Alela.

Her first album, The Pirate’s Gospel, was pretty inoffensive. She was completely at home in her folky minimalism. Most of the tracks on the album featured only her melancholy guitar and vocals – and this combination is effective. It can be depressing, ominous, or scary depending on just a slight change of chords or melody. And when she brings in other vocalists on songs like “The Rifle” the difference is striking. But you have to watch out; I’m telling you. You may not realize that the title track is an almost completely undisguised sea chantey – she actually sings in pirate “yo ho”s during the chorus.

Her new album is called To Be Still. Its first single is called “White as Diamonds.” She sounds unmistakably like a cowgirl on the track. I think it’s a quality her music has always had but I never quite realized it. The influence is more explicit here but her voice has always had the delicate quaver of an old-west crooner. The violin and drums on this track accentuate it. I think the track could fit comfortably into any classic western film. It’s a good track. Different, but good.

Another track on the album: “The Cuckoo.” Being a banjo player, I especially appreciated this one. The track is (was) a traditional Appalachian folk song and something of an old-time banjo standard. Call me crazy but I just don’t think it’s as melancholy as the original. Sure, it’s ominous, sure, it’s depressing. But I don’t think it quite captured the essence of southern hardship that (banjo great) Clarence Ashley’s version did.

Here’s a video for comparison:



I could go on forever but really I don’t think Alela’s version and Clarence’s version can really be compared. The tempo, the banjo rolls, the harmonic pairing of guitar and banjo, the monotonous modal chord progression – Clarence’s version is just something totally different.

Anyway, I guess my thesis here is: appreciate weirdness in music like Alela’s. It’s interesting – it challenges our cultural boundaries as well as our unnatural craving for “seriousness” in art. But watch out, really pay attention and make sure what you’re listening to isn’t just weird for its own sake, that there’s something more to it; or else you might elicit some awkward stares from some more level-headed fellow listeners.

Here’s the tracks: www.myspace.com/alelamusic.

Hey look! You can stream the entire album on Pitchfork Media! http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12714-to-be-still/.