News

FOLK/POP

• To Be Still
• Alela Diane
• Rough Trade
• 

And the wind cries Alela. After a pair of scarce, handcrafted releases, sandaled siren Alela Diane bursts gently from Northern California with To Be Still, an enchanting album of sunset hippie-folk and earth-toned singer-songwriting. The outdoorsy Diane works with melodies that are feather-fed comfortable. Her voice — "calm as the owl glides" — darkly flutters through warm arrangements of acoustic guitars, banjos, mandolins, cellos and harmonies. While some will compare Diane to Karen Dalton, the haunting Take Us Back calls to mind a less southern Chan Marshall. This record is timeless; multigenerational audiences will admire it; flaws aren't here.

Brad Wheeler

Alela Diane (with Blitzen Trapper) plays Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern on Feb. 21 and Montreal's La Sala Rossa on Feb. 22.

JAZZ

• The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me
• Jane Monheit
• Concord Records
• 

Rather than having to choose between being a jazz singer or a pop stylist, Jane Monheit offers a simple solution — why not be both? And so The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me shines regardless of whether the songs demand singer-songwriter honesty or swing sophistication. Amazingly, Monheit meets the music's demands without having to seesaw between styles. Thanks to the honeyed ease of her phrasing, Monheit moves easily between the dramatic immediacy of cabaret singing and the rhythmic fluidity of jazz, an approach that fits Fiona Apple as neatly as Cole Porter. The lush, chamber-style arrangements — love the flute choir! — are icing on the cake.

J.D. Considine