Album Review: Ala.Ni Is The New Billie Holiday For “You & I”

Did you know Billie Holiday reincarnated? Ala.Ni, literally, invokes and emotes like this legend in her new album, You & I , which simmers and shimmers like a slow-burner. It is so intimate and fiery that you feel like you an Ala.Ni have decided to hold a private bonfire, and each of her songs is a letter to burn and an emotion to release. 

I had mentioned in my Big Thief review that some artists live and breathe on their vocals, and the same can be said for Ala. Ni’s voice. I cannot say there is one track that does not hypnotize me with it gorgeous baring of Ala.Ni’s narrative voice. She is simply simple. There is no flash or glitz beyond the strings that follow her like sprouts birthed from the earth and bending to the wind of her voice. “One Heart Huntsmen” and “I’ll Remember”, again, capture the earthy tone of Ala.Ni as a singer and instrumentalist. It is as if willow tears were used to bring out the pain, lostness, and dreaminess of her protagonists because, like Ms. Holiday, Ala.Ni sees songs like music stories; you need a beginning, middle, and end. There are no “cliffhangers” or veiled emotional tugs; she is going for the dirt and grass of living and has a near perfect voice to do it. Like smoke, she can rise to higher notes, but never loses the slight haze to her voice as in “Cherry Blossom” and “Darkness At Noon”.  With a slight drawl and wind, as in concert, Ala.Ni feels classic like, a Billie Holiday that traveled time to remind us that if music does not make you feel or dream then it is not doing its job. For More Information On Ala.Ni and to buy You & I On June 9 Click Here.