NINA STAMELL – ANOTHER LITTLE DEATH

With a album image reminiscent of Frida Kahlo and a gorgeous cover of Jacques Brel’s Ne Me Quitte Pas Nina Stamell sets the bar at a giddy height by association. Six years after her performance debut Stamell has finally released her debut album, and with the clever choice of Brian Campeau as co-producer she takes a solid leap upwards towards that bar. Like Campeau’s own work, Another Little Death favours understatement and nuance over volume and bombast. While influences like Nina Simone, Sarah McLachlan and Edith Piaf are audible, Stamell’s strength is that she has her own voice in terms of tone and timbre, one that creeps up and slowly wraps its arms around you. The songs have a tendency to drift at times, but the strength of Long Tonight and the 40s-style Time Afloat prove her versatility as a songwriter, and Wall provides a slow building peak to the album and highlights Stamell’s gorgeous voice. Available at limited stores or online only, its worth seeking out and saying you heard her first!

*** 1/2