Album Review: Nina Nastasia - Outlaster

Nina Nastasia sounds so dangerous in her recordings. For someone who is in effect, simply a singer-songwriter, her music has this reckless quality which means she drags the listener away from what could be assumed to be a comfortable listen. This also perhaps explains why this angelic-voiced artist is stuck in the depths of cult-dom, rather than filling the concert halls which she deserves to be doing instead. Whether it was the orchestral spareness of Run to Ruin or 2007’s criminally underrated You Follow Me, Nastasia has always added unconventional flourishes to beautiful, emotionally direct songs. (You Follow Me was just Nastasia and the Dirty 3’s Jim White, and the two managed to turn guitar, voice and drums into sounding much, much more than it was). Outlaster finds Nastasia’s palette expanded again and with a much richer sound. Her unpredictable and theatrical arrangements, canny references to tango and Romany music, and long-time collaborator Steve Albini’s production add another excellent album by the New York artist.

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