Alanna Eileen – Wine Cellar January 31, 2019
A rare and beautiful thing occurred at Auckland’s Wine Cellar the other night, witnessed by just a few lucky souls.
After sets by Herriot Row and Bonnie Shields, a petite young woman in a red velvet dress sat centre stage with an acoustic guitar…her face mostly obscured by her hair.
Alanna Eileen played a handful of songs for a handful of people…all but one her own compositions…and it was one of the most magical 30 minutes I have heard in the tiny venue.
Though Alanna hails from Christchurch, many of the songs she sang had a distinctly North American flavour to them, beginning her her opening number, Lake Michigan. Along with the great lake, she mentions Seattle, New York City and Brooklyn in her lyric. She sings of a lover who is both everywhere and elusive…”I thought I saw your face, it was only a trick of the light.
The waif-like singer has a high, fragile voice that makes her songs sound timeless and haunted, especially when doused with a healthy portion of reverb.
Her version of Hank Williams’ I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry was achingly gorgeous.
I came to the show expecting to hear songs from her new album, Artifice, which is due out on February 10th and was recorded in Richmond, Virginia (her previous EP, 2015’s Keepsake, was recorded at Ben Edwards’ Lyttelton studio, The Sitting Room).
Alanna did play one song from the record, the set-closing The Guide, but the majority of the selections were unreleased songs that she plans to record later this year. Judging by what I heard on this night, it won’t be long before Alanna Eileen receives the same international recognition now being enjoyed by Aldous Harding, Marlon Williams and Nadia Reid.
These are special songs sung with a special voice. Hopefully they and she will be heard by a much larger audience very soon.
Marty Duda
Photos are by Rachel Webb:
Alanna Eileen set list:
- Lake Michigan
- The Tailor
- Ghost In The Marrow
- Stay
- Dark December
- Strange Alchemy
- I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
- The Guide
