Nina Nastasia-"Run To Ruin"

And she's gone from TBA being way too long to this one being way too short.

That's more like 54 records now, buddy -- the gloves're off!

I like the sparseness. Buy a banjo and a washboard and play over it the next time you listen to it.

Maybe it resembles Dirty Three in some form because one of them plays on it.

Why are you complaining about the length if you don't really like it? Wouldn't you want it to be shorter? I'd have a higher opinion of AREN'T Weapons if it had 30 minutes or so sawed off.

Note: I have access to all your pets.

Cozen - My girlfriend's iBook (my personal CD burner) is being fixed, but if I have time, I will. Bring yr iPod and just rip it straight out of my laptop!

!!!TECHNOLOGY!!!!! WTF?

It's cool Nordicskillz.

I am inexplicably in love with this album. Maybe it's my sour mood calling, but it makes living in the desert seem to suck a little bit less. The Blackened Air hit me pretty hard, and this one came on even stronger. It is pretty leisurely, but I don't find it too sparse or lacking in anything. There is such a perfect and consistent atmosphere. The only song I'm slightly lukewarm about is the last one, all others I am smitten with. I was afraid to listen to it for a while because I loved The Blackened Air so much, and with so few songs, if any of them were awful it would be unlucky indeed.

I can't say anymore about it without getting all abstract and poetical and shit, so there.

I like the seeming evolution here into more involved... how should I say this... movement within individual songs? More complex tension, crescendo, resolution? Er, longer songs! Not that the short ones were lacking much.

i taped to minidisc all 4 of her peel/peel acres sessions (i think anyway, unless i missed one, but im usually pretty good at checking these things) and her live slot at the ATP festival which was also broadcast on John Peel, and these recordings have a fair amount of material that isnt on blackened air or run to ruin, and i dont think is on dogs either (judging by the tracklist, i don't have the record though) and it's all fantastic (jim white features on the peel sessions, the 2 peel acres sessions are all solo). in fact if anyone has hosting capabilities, i could mp3 the lot, or id trade for mix cds or anything else really if anyone wanted a burn.

Here's what I thought of Nina Nastasia live in Vancouver, earlier this summer, and here's a review I wrote of Run to Ruin.

jed -- I think you nailed it above, with:

This is an incredible record - it's exactly the spareness which makes it so good. she has got rid of any kind of residual "new Country" sound on this one and it sounds like nothing else.

OTM, as they say around these parts.

"jimmy's rose tattoo" is on Dog's, but the live performance you refer to might be from the live ATP festival set that john peel broadcast in april 2002, as it was certainly on the tracklist. that said, it might be from any other live recording.

the Dog's tracklist is here http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70309131634&sql=Awif5zfs2ehpk

She fit in eerily well with my recent shannon wright/dirty three/smog/folky/etc trend. (I can imagine "the body" on a perfect loop with shannon wright's "surly demise".)

Her voice seemed thin to me at first, and it doesn't have a great range but it's grown on me a lot. Kind of world-weary and deceptively soothing, considering her subject matter.

The thing is, this isn't false modesty, but I'm fortunate enough to be able to work with some truly great editors -- all of whom love music and also write about it themselves.

Back to the topic, and The Lex's question: personally, I heard The Blackened Air first and was immediately captivated. It was a Pitchfork review (sigh, yes, I'm saying nice things about Pitchfork) that really nailed nailed that one for me. I love this description:

You're in a canoe, floating down a stream in some backwoods part of the country, and these sounds come seemingly out of nowhere-- a woman's voice; a whispery, corporeal cello; a ghoulish eerie singing saw that strikes matches on your spine. Something twisted, born wrong, is making this music. And damned if it isn't gorgeous.

Run to Ruin took a little longer for me, but I love it equally.

And finally (apologies for the length of this post), Blood and sparkles, your description of her voice at the end of your last post is totally OTM, too.

< / Nina love fest>

I'm glad I revived this thread. Yay for lovefests! (insert exclamation points/hearts/etc.)

A friend of mine originally lent me The Blackened Air, and I had never heard of her. He thought I might like it because I liked Neko Case. I think he had bought it and then later decided it was "too country", but then he thinks Dirty THree are good "except for the fiddle". Anyway, big props to my friend for that favor, even if I find his taste to be a little off.

http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=34LZ12QID9T9V34JRL3T2HWN6B

anyone know if she has any other new recordings in the works?

"Recently Nina spent two weeks in Iceland traveling and collaborating
with the Tuvan throat singing group Huun-Huur-Tu. Soon she'll record a follow up to 2003's "Run To Ruin" with engineer Steve Albini."

SESSIONS
1. 03/05/2002
2. 04/07/2002 (Peel Acres)
3. 05/12/2002 (Maida Vale 4)
4. 04/05/2003 (Peel Acres)
5. 29/10/2003 (Old Market)
6. 10/06/2004 (Peel Acres)

(suprised nobody has mentioned the phone ringing in the middle of one of the numbers, peel apologising profusly and nina not dropping a note)

that mp3, btw, is from peel tribute cd, some of the money from which is going to charity:

"A portion of profits will go to charities - The Salvation Army, East Anglia's Children's Hospices and The Kariandusi School Trust."

this is probably her most inward album, hardest to get into but i love it so much...You Her and Me is just a brutal song...the part at the end where she's calling the paramedics but hoping the other girl dies is o_O....

seeing her on saturday night!!! so fucking excited, jim white is in tow, haven't been so excited for a show in years.

Still think this is the best one.

I always wind up singing "Riders on the Storm" to myself when I listen to "I Say That I Will Go"