:: Alela Diane - The Pirate’s Gospel (Australian special edition)

Alela Diane

This month’s hyped-up new-folk artist is Californian singer-songwriter Alela Diane. Mercifully, the hype is not entirely unwarranted. Comparisons to the likes of Joanna Newsom and Joni Mitchell have been bandied about, but these ears keep hearing a slightly more accessible version of Devendra Banhart.

Alela presents the listener with abstrusely poetic word paintings rooted in a kind of nature-girl whimsy. Utilising musical punctuation that is both kooky and cutesy (the children’s choir on Pieces Of String, the tombstone yo-ho-hos on the ghostly sea-shanty of the title track, and the odd bit of whistling and clapping) she somehow escapes the twee trap and emerges free of affectation.

Sparse arrangements leave ample room for Alela’s octave-skipping vocals to trace honeyed arcs over finger-picked guitar, subdued piano and hushed banjo and mandolin. The whole creates an intimate campfire vibe; you can almost smell the wood-smoke and watch the crackling fire sending sparks up into the night sky. Whether or not bucolic reveries are your thing, it would be hard to deny that Alela Diane is a bewitching new talent. A magical debut suffused with quiet beauty.

Note the Australian edition comes with two bonus tracks and a video.