In a world of online influencers selling false versions of themselves for profit, it’s seems absurd that musicians are now expected to produce content and compete for attention on the same platforms. And yet here we are.
Portland based indie folk songwriter Alela Diane has been someone whose social media feels more like a natural reflection of her life, very low-key DIY, with a wry smile that suggests she’s playing the game without taking it too seriously. She’s filmed videos in her stunning Victorian home, featured her pets and children, partnered with eco-fashion brand Christy Dawn, wearing them in her social media content and on stage, while always keeping the focus on the most important element: the music.
This new album was recorded in her own home studio, and she has recently made a deliberate choice to engage with her local music community again after many years focused on motherhood. Although it must be said that even if her attention was elsewhere she’s never really been away from music releasing Cusp, Looking Glass and It’s Always Christmas Somewhere with the Hackles in the ten years since this blog began in 2017. Her new album ‘Who’s Keeping Time?’ is full of beautiful, warmly rich sounding songs which she will be touring far and wide in the upcoming year, another sign of her renewed ambition.
Opener ‘California’ takes a nostalgic approach to her past, heading back to the state where she grew up. People and places are different now, almost unrecognisable even, but muted memories come back softly. By singing ‘California, I’ve returned’, followed by a delightful whistle, she is quietly re-entering the listener’s ear too. She’s now ‘home’ again to where she started, a different person in a different time. The sunny, golden hues of the music feel fresh and yet comfortably familiar too.
On ‘Galloping’, written in her sickbed, she offers a more uncertain, darker tone with the shifting and circling sound of the music reflecting the strange, unsettling world around us. Comfort is there in the ‘soothing sound’ of the landline and shared moments of love.
The single ‘In My Own Time’ is a beautiful reminder to go outside, to breathe the air, and appreciate the joy of love and the natural cycles of life. In an ever spinning, pressurised world a sweet song like this is a quietly powerful statement of rebellion. Her voice has never sounded better.
Looking outward on ‘Dusty Roses’ has her singing of another type of woman – one who struggled with alcohol, motherhood and addiction. Inspired by a friend of her who went missing, this one is a song she has dedicated to ‘the lost girls’ – those who can’t cope with the pressures of living up to what society expects of them. On ‘Could Be’ she contemplates other roles and possibilities in her own life, showing a sympathetic understanding of the powerful forces that can often be beyond our control.
‘Spring is a Fine Time to Die’ was inspired by the death of her folk music hero and friend Michael Hurley whose answering machine message of support opens the song. It’s a perfect tribute to him, contemplating the eternal question and mystery of death and yet feels jaunty, finding hope in the blooming flowers of the season, folk music and the circle of life.
Another song written in tribute to someone in her life is ‘Wide Open Spaces’ for her brother. She sings of their complex relationship, the everyday struggles of the American man, and the unifying joy of the fact they both ‘love wide open spaces’.
While most of the album focuses on family, friendships and the natural world she also takes aim at the politics of her fellow countrymen on ‘Piss, Coffee, Blood or Wine?’. One of the best songs on the album she asks searing questions of the American people whose hypocrisy feels unfathomable: ‘is there no heart inside that beats?’ She sings as if America itself is the form slumped on the sidewalk, one whose soul has been stolen.
While ‘To Be Kind’ is likely a song about dealing with children, this appeal and plea for kindness works on many levels. ‘Fragile as a Flame’ is a quietly lovely song about the emotional weight of time passing.
The album ends with an ‘Endless Waltz’ where she references back the ‘river’ she dreamed of on her last album. She poignantly pays tribute to her grandparents and how they passed the torch down through time.
‘Who’s Keeping Time?’ feels like the perfect record for this moment, filled with nostalgic yearning, gorgeously comforting music, and emotional songwriting that cuts through all the noise in the world right to the heart. Alela has released one of the best albums of the year so far, quietly reminding us that we all get where we need to be in our own time.
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> Album Review: Alela Diane – Cusp
BUY: https://aleladiane.bandcamp.com/album/whos-keeping-time
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