About Farewell
Turning away from the full-band setup she employed in the past and emphasizing the lonelier aspects of her artistic journey, Alela Diane\'s *About Farewell* tells the story of her personal troubles, of a marriage gone to divorce, and a life now very much in question. Some talented friends—Heather Broderick on piano and flute, Holcombe Walker arranging strings, Neal Morgan playing drums—add just the right touch, but they can\'t change the circumstances. Diane harmonizes with herself and creates an uncomfortable closeness or a sycophantic choir for such emotionally precise tunes as the title track, \"Lost Land,\" and \"Before the Leaving.\" Only the five-minute \"The Way We Fall\" expands on its theme for a larger musical show. The remaining tracks sit comfortably in their relatively brief existences. The drums on \"Black Sheep\" do suggest a certain amount of confidence and coming to terms with oneself. But nothing is ever as simple as we\'d like, and Diane captures that sense of unsettled hope that hangs in the air of every romantic.
Portland folkie Alela Diane's musical co-pilot on her last record was guitarist Tom Bevitori, also her husband at the time. That marriage ended*,* prompting a return to the stark guitar-and-voice arrangements of her early work on About Farewell.
She sure is a candid one, Alela Diane, but her stunning, effortlessly gorgeous voice prevents the honesty from being at all alienating.
The first widely available release by the Nevada City-born singer/songwriter Alela Diane was a 2006 edition of The Pirate's Gospel.
Neil McCormick praises an album offering an almost forensic examination of love’s demise.