Alela Diane at the Union Chapel

Alela Diane
Olivia Chaney
Union Chapel, 12 April 2018

It's strange, the first time I saw Alela Diane live was in a church and here I am, almost 10 years later, now in the quiet beauty of the Union Chapel, sitting in a pew and marveling at how much her music still moves me.

This is the perfect place for her to play really, not only does it have a warm, intimate atmosphere but the sound is always utterly lovely for acoustic shows: there isn't a seat here where you don't hear the songs just as they are meant to be heard. Of course, though, I'm in my usual spot at the front and it's rather wonderful sitting watching the day getting darker through the stained glass windows.

The first act, Olivia Chaney, arrives promptly on stage just as people are settling in, joined by a male guitarist who accompanies her for most of her set. I had never actually heard of Chaney before but it seems she is a friend of Diane's and an accomplished musician, both in the folk and classical worlds. In fact she tells us she was surprised to find herself nominated for a Grammy last year for an album she made with The Decemberists under the name Offa Rex.

Chaney looks more like she is going to play us a classical piece than strum a guitar but when she opens her mouth to sing, her voice is pure traditional folk. The songs themselves are very elegant obviously are as much influenced by classical music as they are Joni Mitchell or Sandy Denny. In fact at one point she gushes about how much she loves Henry Purcell and, as on her first album, her forthcoming record, Shelter, will feature one of his songs. She then sings O Solitude with the perfect amount of churchly echo. I'm sure Purcell would be proud. 

Finally, Diane walks shyly onto the stage wearing a long, white dress with a pink slash, for that boho chic look she seems to have perfected over the years (I know it's annoying to talk about female performers clothes but I am envious of Diane's effortless style). 

Her latest album, Cusp, is all about motherhood, as Diane now has two children, exploring the highs and lows, the joys and struggles of raising her daughters and even looks at her relationship with her own mother, the song Never Easy, which sounds especially poignant tonight.

She begins with the first track on the record, Albatross, taking her place behind the piano to sing about how hard it is to leave your child for the first time to fly overseas. It's unusual to see Diane behind the piano but the new album is the first to feature it heavily, down to a injury leaving her unable to play guitar while she wrote Cusp. Accompanied by Heather Woods Broderick on cello and Mirabai Peart on violin , there's something wonderful hearing her branch out musically this way and of course it sounds amazing in the high-ceilinged chapel.

The show tonight is pretty much a showcase for the new record and she plays nine of the 11 songs from it. There's the pretty folk of The Threshold, one of the few songs I've experienced live that features an old-fashioned recorder (it actually sounds rather lovely). The catchy but plaintive Ether & Wood, which on record features backing vocals by First Aid Kit, but here Broderick and Peart ably provide the warm harmonies. And the beautiful ode to the plight of refugees, Émigré, a timely song of compassion that ranks up with Diane's best.

The two most moving songs from Cusp are ones dedicated to particular people. First there's Diane's sad piano ode to folk legend Sandy Denny and the child she left behind when she tragically died aged just 31. "She said motherless children have a hard time when mother's gone, but she left her baby girl alone and nothing could be done, nothing could be done" she sings and it's hard to not get choked up.

The second is also performed on piano, Wild Ceaseless Song, which she dedicates to her daughter Elvira, who she was pregnant when she wrote the song. The lyrics tell of her hopes and dreams for her unborn daughter. It's a beautiful way to end the show.

Elsewhere, she sings two of the saddest songs from her divorce album, About Farewell: the title track and Colorado (I still get chills when I hear her sing "When you left me for her, you left me in the snow"), and quite a few from probably my favourite Alela Diane album, To Be Still. I don't think I will ever tire of hearing her sing the gentle country-infused folk of White As Diamonds or Lady Divine.

Not surprisingly there's nothing from Wild Divine, the album she made while still married to her ex-husband, or the bleak but beautiful album she recorded with Ryan Francesconi, Cold Moon. But she does treat us to two tracks from her debut album, The Pirate's Gospel, which both get a great response. First, The Rifle, in the middle of the show, which now sounds utterly classic and then during the encore, the song Oh! My Mama, which fits in nicely with the motherhood theme that is heard throughout the set.

She ends the night with Age Old Blue, singing "The sea beneath the cliff, is the blue in my mother's eyes, that came from the blue in her mother's eyes, thrown on down the line" to the quiet accompaniment of just her acoustic guitar. It's simply elegant and enchanting, which sums up the whole night really. I'm not sure why Diane isn't a bigger star than she is but I'm kind of glad she isn't if it means I'll still get to hear her charm audiences in small churches such as this.