Emily Jane White - Dark Undercoat

  by Andrew Carver

published: 10 / 10 / 2008

---

Review

Emily Jane White’s ‘Dark Undercoat’ is a well-crafted album of folk songs that probe the underworld of Americana. White’s slightly husky, narcotic voice sounds quite a bit like Chan Marshall of Cat Power’s, but where Marshall tends to the fault lines in her own fragile psyche, White’s landscape of damned blues singers, wandering cowboys and dealers with the forces of darkness seems more Like Nick Cave’s or Bill Callahan of Smog’s. When she does reflect, it’s in the language of death and departure, with some voodoo thrown in “There were ravens above my bed and they took my newlywed” is one choice line from ‘Sleeping Dead’. Starting with a tribute to jazz legend Bessie Smith, White provides an accompaniment as spare and spectral as her lyrics of fatal love.A handful of the album’s 10 tracks have discreet bass and drums, with cello making an appearance on two as well, for the most part it’s just White and her guitar or piano. An occasional western twang garnishes several tunes, while the scraping chug make tunes like ‘Blue’ sound like 'The Misfits' run through a bone-dry desert ballad. ‘Dark Undercoat’ should appeal to anyone who likes their folk music to stay in the shadows.

Track Listing:-

1 Bessie Smith
2 Hole In The Middle
3 Dark Undercoat
4 Dagger
5 Time On Your Side
6 The Demon
7 Sleeping Dead
8 Blue
9 Wild Tigers I Have Known
10 Two Shots To The Head

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/emilyjanewhit
http://www.emilyjanewhite.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Ja
http://www.bandsintown.com/EmilyJaneWh
https://twitter.com/emilyjanewhite1

Label Links:-

http://www.talitres.com/en/
https://www.facebook.com/talitres.rds
https://twitter.com/talitres
https://instagram.com/talitres/