Alela Diane: White as Diamonds

Alela's song The Rifle has been a favorite of the missus' ever since it was an iTunes Single of the Week back in March, and now it seems there's an album on the way, entitled To Be Still.  In advance of that, she (or at least her new record label, the inimitable Rough Trade) has released White as Diamonds as a preview.

Sadly it seems she succumbed to the need to slap unnecessary bass and drums all over her sparse, countryish tunes.  I guess that's one of the pitfalls of signing to a large label: you get given some actual money to make a recording, and feel that you need to deliver something more "expansive" to warrant the expense...

Thankfully she's done a Daytrotter session sans drums etc, and it sounds much better, and much more in keeping with her style.  I've included the Daytrotter version of The Rifle below, along with the promotional copy of White as Diamonds, but to get a true feel for what she's capable of you should definately peruse the Daytrotter tracks.  You can get her previous self/tiny-label releases from her wesite, and I'm guessing the new record'll be all over the shops when it gets released...

Alela Diane - White as Diamonds [audio //www.bearfacedrecords.com/EbMBlog_mp3s/AlelaDiane/AlelaDiane_WhiteAsDiamonds.mp3]

Alela Diane - The Rifle (Daytrotter Session) [audio //www.bearfacedrecords.com/EbMBlog_mp3s/AlelaDiane/AlelaDiane_TheRifle_Daytrotter.mp3]