Nina Nastasia
The Blackened Air
I have to admit up front here I have a predilection for female vocalists, especially if their name is Nina. It all started with Nina Simone I guess. This is not a smoky jazz album however. It is though, smoky enough to burn your eyes if you're not careful. The sound here is pure southern gothic folk. It elicits imagery of decaying bayou flophouses, lonely two lane highways, and perhaps even a few Deliverance flashbacks.
This album is an organic flowing affair that contains some of the best production values I have heard in a while. This is due to, or perhaps in spite of the fact that noted punkmeister Steve Albini is twisting the knobs. At the risk of being redundant, I want to make note again of the fantastic audio quality of this album. It has an almost live feel to it, made all the more intimate by simply closing your eyes whilst listening.
The bulk of the sound is made up of simple acoustic guitar lines, upright bass, and sparse percussion, most often an absolutley huge bass drum hit that comes out of nowhere. Accordian, strings, and everybody's emotive favorite: the singing saw all make appearances here, and give this album which could be described as sparse, a contradictory full richness of sound.
Presiding over it all is Ms. Nastasia's voice: sometimes shy, sometimes playful, sometimes just plain and subdued, but always engaging. I think my favorite song on this album full of great songs may be The Ocean, a track which begins slow and sadly, and culminates in an incredible saw driven freakout:
My eyes are black as iron
I'm toppling houses, trees and towns
My crying makes everybody drown
Most of the sixteen tracks on this album are very short, just over two minutes. Just as one song has sucked you in it spits you out and the next begins. The album ends with That's All There Is, a short, sad, and plaintive song appealing to a lover that provides fitting closure to this album. What else can I say? This is a stunning album that abounds with fragile beauty. It starts strong, and dies in the ocean, just like a wave...
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