Alela Diane, "Heavy Walls" from The Pirate's Gospel

Diane, who moved to Portland from Nevada City, sings finger-picked gospel songs from the gut, but she has a much better sense of proper dynamics and delivery than the other musicians from her hometown that have earned her style the misnomer of a moniker, Freak Folk. It's all here in this this track from her 2004 release, The Pirate's Gospel. A woozy lament, this song isn't all whisperin' and shoutin' like Devendra Banhart. And charged lines like "When it crumbles/ It will lift me up" aren't so effected that you can't understand what she's talking about like Joanna Newsom. And that's such a relief because her words are just as powerful as that voice.

Alela Diane: aleladiane.com

Diane will be playing a show tonight with Tom Brosseau, Shelley Short and Plants at Holocene. 9 pm. $7. 21+.