Rating: NNN
When we last heard Hannah Shira Naiman, she was singing haunting a cappella harmonies as one-half of folk duo the Blackest Crow with Emily Adam.
On her Andrew Collins-produced debut solo album, Naiman’s banjo provides the foundation for most of the tunes, with Adam guesting on backup vocals and cello on a few tracks.
Not surprisingly (we loved the Blackest Crow EP), the Naiman-Adam collaboration on sparse, sad title track Tether My Heart is a standout, and the duo also do a full-band reprise of their childlike song Little Fox. Elsewhere, Naiman’s light, airy soprano is backed in more traditional folk fashion – by mandolin, bass and fiddle.
The Way To Go Home, which borrows its chorus from the Irving King song of the same name, pays tribute to Naiman’s grandfather with homey, nostalgic piano-playing by Ken Whiteley.
Top track: Tether My Heart
Hannah Shira Naiman plays the Tranzac tonight (Thursday, November 28).
