Alela Diane & Wild Divine

Alela Diane & Wild Divine - Third album from Portland, OR singer/songwriter moves beyond her earlier solo acoustic musings into a fuller, fleshed out -- and occasionally country/rock-tinted -- style...not too wild, actually, but with some pretty divine unvarnished moments // Release: Alela Diane & Wild Divine (April 5, Rough Trade) // Quote: "I didn't want to be held back...It became obvious to me that I didn't just want to do what I'd been doing. Some changes happened that felt like the right thing." // Sounds like: Diane's looking to mix what she calls "the intimate" with the "gritty", a la, say, Neil Young...there's a more direct feel to the production -- the songs have more heft but the sound is actually more stark than her acoustic works // What we like: the lovely blend of Diane's completely natural-sounding vocals with the delicate melody and acoustic picking behind "The Wind"...the sweet and tart, rough-hewn harmonies, raw guitar licks and forthright kick of "Long Way Down"... 

Alela Diane & Wild Divine - "The Wind" (from Alela Diane & Wild Divine)

Alela Diane & Wild Divine - "To Begin" (from Alela Diane & Wild Divine)

(Full album stream here)