Customer Reviews

Run to Ruin

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If The Blackened Air was Nina Nastasia singing from a creaky, dilapidated barn -- then Run to Ruin takes place in the smoldering cinders of that same barn after its torching by a spurned lover. Such a dramatic shift in song writing can be likened to Dean Wareham's Romantica transfiguration from bleary-eyed cynic to a maudlin infatuator. I don't know what instigated Nastasia's metamorphosis, but just last album she was singing "My body's young and here to please him / I serve him right / I go with him" and "I can see the stars above / I can give it all up / Up to you / All for you! / All for you!" but now she moans "All the love / I have left / You won't know / You won't know" under a funeral-like arrangement complete with haunting accordion and pounding drums.

At an ephemeral thirty minutes long, fifteen shorter than The Blackened Air, Run to Ruin -- Nastasia's junior album, second for Touch and Go, and third with Steve Albini at the boards -- is her most focused yet. Vocally, Nastasia is most evocative of Neko Case or Mirah. She is softer spoken than Neko, as well as more reliant on the emphasis of words than vocal strength, and has more of a country-esque modulation than Mirah. Instrumentally, Run to Ruin is heavily influenced by the dark, dusty deserts, Mexican barrios, and all-night truck stops: think Gillian Welch singing for a countrified Dirty Three. On The Blackened Air, Nastasia focused on short bursts of songs (rarely over two minutes long) representing ideas such as forgetfulness, devotion or voyeurism. On Run to Ruin she expands on the longer tracks from The Blackened Air, ("Ocean," "That's All There Is") and delves into the depths of storytelling. "I Say That I Will Go" is told through the eyes of a protagonist who must cross a dirty southwestern town to bail out an unnamed friend. "Regrets" puts a down-and-out dame in a decrepit $35 dollar a night hotel where she can "hear the Spanish screams of girlfriends in the other rooms" who, she reassures herself, are not like her. She hears the women in the other room saying "Make no regrets," but she does so anyway as she prostitutes herself, and becomes just like those in the rooms beside her.

"The Body" puts an abusive spin on fidelity ("My blood for you / My lover's bruise / My clothes are scattered / My skull is fractured") with Nastasia singing in a plaintive falsetto which fades out midway and is replaced with a Tosca Tango Orchestra meets bluegrass instrumental romp closer. "On Teasing," similarly builds into a thick wall of instrumentation of cello, accordion, and dulcimer after Nastasia sings of a young girl being swallowed whole by the ornery sea.

If there is one central motif to Run to Ruin, it is that elusive and crucial relationship killer: communication. On the straightforward "Superstar," Nastasia sighs "I know what you said" in a matter-of-fact, assuming tone. Going on, she declares/consoles herself by telling no one but herself, that she's a Superstar -- "Not ordinary." "Stay in the conversation" she tells her infatuation as she tries to ignore her competitor in the backseat who she hopes is not listening ("Maybe she's not listening to us / The thoughts in her hands are distracting enough"). The more obvious "We Never Talked" has Nastasia lamenting a lack of communication: "We never talked / About the thing / We witnessed / ... / Our conversations stayed same / From year to year" On the final number, "While We Talk," Nastasia seems to get closure from simply watching her lover eat a slice of cake.

Nastasia's pen has sharpened greatly since The Blackened Air. No more does she scratch out mental images and feelings into terse songs, but builds upon those images and experiences -- placing the listener in her worn, ragged shoes -- instead of in our Gucci's, 20 feet away, behind a chained link fence.

Her music sidesteps easy categorisation, as it's beautifully minimal in construction, yet incredibly rich in substance for something so minimal......(and strangely so compelling)

Nina Nastasia creates unparalleled intimate spectral music, that is sung in a vocal that although highly trained is frequently just above softly spoken (although occasionally blossoming into a pitch-perfect orchestral ballad chorus), aided and abetted by incredibly gifted multi-instrumentalists that play a variety of classical instruments (Cello, violin, acoustic guitar, piano, accordion & Drums), and a feature the long forgotten "Bowed Saw" instrument , and contribute only the most minimal of sounds, to form a tenderly delicate and musically stark & stripped-down sound, allowing Nina's Vocals room to quietly captivate the listener...and the most remarkable thing is that its all so minimal and stark that theoretically, her sound shouldn't be so passionate & Enthralling for something so stark, yet it remains powerfully beautiful....

Similar artists are undoubtedly hard for me to compare her to, as she is something completely unique to herself....but if artists' such as The Black Heart Procession, Neko Case, Calexico mean nothing to you....then (and this is a very rough approximation) think an Orchestral version of "Portishead"....they share the same brooding sombre theatrics, dark gloomy instrumentation, Bittersweet vocals, exceptionally talented female vocalists, and have a sound that is completely unique to them....(although I'd really hate to say it publicly but `Nina's' work may possibly have the edge!!)

...Easily the most deeply affecting Album I've listened to for some time...

P.s. You'll really need a decent Stereo/Speaker set-up to really do this album justice, and to be able to listen to it uninterrupted....but if the right conditions are meet, then (hopefully) you guys will understand with it is I'm trying to convey in this Recommendation.

A Truly, Truly Wonderful album....

I'm not sure why "southern" and "country" come up so much in describing Nastasia--at least on this album, none of the lyrical content suggests such descriptions, nor does the style of the music. It has more in common with New York Art Music of the Knitting Factory variety than it does with country. I'm also not sure about the Welch comparisons--I guess the fact that they both come from LA, and that they both avoid the traps that so many female singers fall into of over soul-ifying their voices, has something to do with it. In other words, both have a slightly more understated, unembellished style than, say, Avril Lavigne.

With what it isn't out of the way, what it is: stark, haunting music; loosely, expressively played violin, cello, bass, guitar and drums backing a clear and sad voice. The majority of the tracks, as one listener commented, have fairly simple song structures, instead building and brooding and swirling in dark intense moods. But unlike the other listener, I don't find this to be a flaw.

The albums highpoint for me is The Body, where for a moment the storm is cleared by an intricate and angelic melody, and then the band dives back in and murks up the mood again.

My one complaint about this otherwise flawless album is that, on a few tracks, after having seen her live recently, I think Albini failed to capture the fullness of Nastasia's voice--making her sound sort of childish and nasaly. I'd take off half a star for that if I could.

If anyone is wondering what the bonus track is, it is Nina singing a song in Japanese. With very good pronunciation I might add..

This is Nina Nastasia's third album and i believe that she has truely gone out on a limb. This is a very good album, but it is also terribly downbeat, moreso than "The Blackened Air", and even more minimal. This album also seems like she's still experimenting with what she wants to do as far as sound, this album is shorter, but at the same time much more personal than her others. This is fascinating to me because the listener can see the gradual change in her style.
I believe that "The Blackened Air" established her intimacy with her music, and was more personal than "Dogs", but i feel that these lyrics are even more biographical. When i hear this album i cant help feeling like something very sad has just recently happened to her which has inturn made her music much more gloomy. All in all, i do not believe that someone new to Nina Nastasia's music should start with this album, but first buy "dogs", then progress to "the blackened air" then buy "run to ruin", i believe that that is the best way to fully appreciate this great album.

This cd is more cohesive than The Blackened Air but still both disturbing and beautiful. I would call it a rock record with elements of slow core, backed by a gypsy orchestra. Jim White from the Dirty Three plays on it. His drumming is very intense and slow. The combination of instruments like dulcimer, piano, cello, accordion and electric guitar is fascinating.

One of the most original and quirky contemporary singer-songwriters around, Nina Nastasia is memorable for her strange, atmospheric lyrics and the sparse but extremely empathatic arrangements of her accompanists. Her style and sound, ably recorded by Steve Albini, whilst unique, reminds me most of the Geraldine Fibbers or Lisa Germano, both of whom I hold in high regard. This album followed The Blackened Air and it seems that Nina shrank away from the commercial success that greeted that album and had become even more dark and uncompromising on this half-hour sequel. The playing time is short but one feels that maybe three or four times the work has been applied to each of these immaculate vignettes, compared to that of her peers, and will repay repeated listens.

This album was recorded at the Black Box studios in France (possibly the same studios used by Josh Ritter and Gemma Hayes?) and although some overdubbing took place back in New York, the sound appears predominantly live, giving the performances heightened drama and presence. I particularly approve of the fact that each of the eight songs ends, properly. Is it too late to start a campaign to banish the fade-out ending in all but the most extreme cases of artistic necessity, especially on longer items? No-one has mastered the art of the fade since Phil Spector and it has become grossly overused.

Nearly half of this album could be qualified as classical - which is a good thing. Somehow Nina Nastasia manages to move between genres without a perceptible reference, without using obvious devices. Comparisons to Cat Power and the like come from people who have a short musical vocabulary and who likely discovered Nastasia's music through indie music channels because her records are carried by the underground Chicago indie/punk label Touch and Go. Nastasia is a true original whose music will probably outlast current trends and will hopefully over time develop the wide audience that it addresses. Her careful use of words and elegant, economical use of expressive arrangements is remarkable.

Part of my dissappointment at this record has to be due to the amazing 'The Blackened Air', Nina Nastasia's last Album which was an eclectic selection of fragments of songs and full songs from many different emmotional perspectives.

What struck me on my second listen to Run To Ruin was how there seems to be no song structure. She has a beautiful voice and the band are incredible but it's all mood and texture and no real songs as though she's written some words and all of the musicians are improvisising on a mood, she is improvising the melody and slotting the words in as they fall.

That's a cool way of doing things but for a songwriter with such a grasp of songwriting, who'se songs can twist you and turn you over three minutes, it seems a shame to just hear her lock into an admittedly beautiful groove and jam for three minutes at a time.

I may grow to like this album for what it is (I mean buy it just to hear Jim White let loose) but it's far more 'difficult' than The Blackened Air'.