Natalie Jane Hill

★★★★ Solely DEAR LIFE. CD/DL/LP/MC

Intimate chamber folk from Austin newcomer.

Comparisons might be traditionally invidious, but they can also be tantalising: how about, for instance, the idea of Karen Dalton singing

Nick Drake’s Way To Blue? That’s the rough MO of Plants And Flowers That Do Not Grow Here, one of the outstanding tracks on this second album by Texan Natalie Jane Hill. Hill’s husky tone recalls Dalton at her least demonstrative, and she backs herself with some exceptionally artful fingerpicking. The prevailing air is understated, occasionally to the point of elegant drowsiness; To Feel Alone, with vibraphone and pedal steel flecks, has something of Tim Buckley circa Dream Letter, too. Solely isn’t the sort of record that aggressively sells itself, so maybe we should do the hard work for it, and for Hill: an auspicious late entry in 2021’s singer-songwriter stakes, worth keeping close for the winter.