Nina Nastasia - The Blackened Air

This week's critical junction is a little left of field, and well perhaps an artist few of you will have heard of let alone the album.

So first things first I suppose, who is Nina Nastasia? Nina is a New York based singer songwriter, who has released 5 albums all of which have been produced by the worlds best non-producing producer, Steve Albini. Blackened Air is her second album and was released in 2002. The late great BBC DJ, John Peel was a huge fan and had her record six sessions for the BBC. Her song Ugle Face, from Blackened Air made it to number 4 on Peel's annual festive 50 in 2002!

So Blackened Air, why is it included in our little corner of musical criticism? Well we guess its something of a personal choice, but it is an achingly beautiful album worthy of our and many others praise. The folk infused album is filled with tracks that will undoubtedly stand the test of time. Nina's coutry twinged voice and delicate guitar are the driving force of this album. Short songs like All For You achieve more in 1:42 seconds that most artist accomplish in a lifetime! Compared this to the more forceful song In The Graveyard, which despite its despairing lyrics is filled with a redemption not often found in ballads of loss. Perhaps the finest moment on this astonishing collection of songs is This Is What It Is, which blends chamber music, country and folk into something rarely heard, new music!

If you haven't heard of Nina, or heard her music, then this is the place to start, Blackened Air and Nina Nastasia are gaining momentum, get on board and go to wherever her music takes you.


Track Listing

1. "Run, All You…"
2. "I Go With Him"
3. "This Is What It Is"
4. "Oh, My Stars"
5. "All for You"
6. "So Little"
7. "Desert Fly"
8. "Ugly Face"
9. "In the Graveyard"
10. "Ocean"
11. "Rosemary"
12. "The Same Day"
13. "Been So Long"
14. "The Very Next Day"
15. "Little Angel"
16. "That's All There Is"