EMILY JANE WHITE - Dark Undercoat

Nostalgic for the intense, seductive Cat Power of “You Are Free”? Still puzzled by her retro, bluesy turn on “The Greatest”? Well, you may have found someone who, far from being able to take the place of the most fascinating cat of female singer-songwriting, might perhaps bring a little warmth to the hearts of those who appreciate the intriguing simplicity of the sober warmth of a voice wrestling with songs steeped in folk and built almost entirely around guitar and piano.

The point of comparison is undoubtedly a heavy one, but also unavoidable from the very first encounter with “Dark Undercoat”, the debut album by Emily Jane White, a Californian singer-songwriter already featured on the soundtrack of Cam Archer's film “Wild Tigers I Have Known” (on which she performed the title track itself) and since then taken under the protective wing of David Tibet, who is releasing this album through Durtro/Jnana.

Joined on this work by a handful of collaborators who, on drums and strings, occasionally round out her basic setup of guitar, piano and voice, Emily Jane gathers ten songs on “Dark Undercoat”, the fruit of a full five years of writing, which without any jarring shifts alternate country-folk tradition with refined songwriting, not without its reference points (not just Chan Marshall, but also towering figures like Joni Mitchell and even Kate Bush) and yet so intimate and heartfelt that it manages, with real personality, to steer clear of the risks of blatant emulation.

If anything, the only moments in this fine work that leave you slightly puzzled are precisely the rare occasions when the Californian singer-songwriter gets a little carried away, veering a touch too close to Cat Power – and pulling it off rather well, too – as in “Sleeping Dead” and, in part, “Dagger”.

But these are only very brief passages, and probably impressions dictated more by the inevitable, if pleasant, resemblance to the listener's ear than by any conscious leaning on the artist's part, who instead shows great command both of classic electric-folk registers, enriched by a silky voice poised between allure and austerity (“Bessie Smith”, “Hole In The Middle”, “Time On Your Side”), and of nocturnal compositions, of limpid essentiality and not without faint gothic shadings, as in the case of “Dagger” and “Blue”, oblique songs played almost with fingertip delicacy.

Emily Jane's gentle picking then fits perfectly with the intimate feel of her songs, finding its fullest expression in the restraint of the cello and bass arrangements, which on the splendid title track even bring to mind the distant, tender melancholy of Sodastream.

And that's not all, because the surprising balance of this work is also helped along by the faintly shadowy intensity of two piano gems, “The Demon” and “Wild Tigers I Have Known”, which pair sweetness of vocal delivery with the measured darkness of the piano notes, doled out sparingly to craft refined sonic settings.

In their fluid yet never superficial variety, the compositions and performances on “Dark Undercoat” might make those who demand who-knows-what kind of novelty at all costs, even within a classic field like singer-songwriting, turn up their nose, but the expressive power and class Emily Jane displays throughout can only amount to a thoroughly delightful discovery, as well as one of the finest examples of female singer-songwriting from the year now drawing to a close.

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17/12/2007