TLOBF Loves… Nina Nastasia & Jim White

Nina Nastasia is an American folk influenced singer/songwriter, she is endorsed by Steve Albini, who seems to have produced every album she’s ever done including this year’s You Follow Me, and also John Peel (well was endorsed, anyway). Jim White is from Australia and is the drummer for the instrumental rock band the Dirty Three (Nick Cave associates). They’ve both worked with each other prior to this album on some of Nastasia’s previous releases, but You Follow Me is presented as an equal collaboration.

I think it’s a stunning album, Jim White is an unbelievably good drummer, his contributions are equal to that of Nastasia’s, despite only playing drums. He, along with George Hurley of The Minutemen and Bryan Devendorf of The National, have managed to turn this year into the Year Of Understanding Why Drums Are Important And, Indeed, Fucking Amazing or YOUWDAIAIFA as I’m calling it for short. White has such an expressive and nuanced style throughout the album, really expanding songs that would be less without his involvement.

The songs themselves are things of beauty, Nastasia is so focused and delicate in both lyrics and guitar, narrators hark back to the old times in dusty sepia and a Depression weighs down on the world around the relationships and situations she explores. My previous experiences of her were of light and whispery songs whilst accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. So light and whispery, in fact, that it was hard to grasp the songs before they finished. On You Follow Me, however, she manages to retain that delivery and yet amplify it to match the drum’s loudness. This is definitely going to be in my top 3 of the year, here’s an mp3 of my favourite track and a good ol’ youtube of another track, scintillatingly performed.

mp3:> Nina Nastasia & Jim White: “There Is No Train”
[From You Follow Me; Out now, Fat Cat]