Alela Diane "Forest Parade" (2003)

Diane's first, self-released album shows where she's heading, but as you might expect, it's a bit rougher than her later work.  Still good though!

Alela Diane "To Be Still" (2009)

A few months ago I was revisiting some old Kate Wolf records & I was struck by how much her work is reflected in that of Alela Diane.  I suppose it's not surprising that a young folksinger from Northern California would be influenced by Wolf, who was the major folksinger from the same area in the 1970s.

Anyway, I love this album.   It says a lot for the album that I felt the same sort of enthusiasm a couple of years removed from its release.

In particular I love the way that Diane's lyrics combine the physical & the natural worlds.  For example:  "Thinking I'd like to look at your teeth/lined up in perfect rows/a maze of children's feet in orchard trees/where the flat lands stretch inside your mouth/and when you laugh all of the star thistles tumble out"