She grew up in the small town of Spartanburg, South Carolina, within a community of Seventh-day Adventists. Singer, songwriter and poet Adia Victoria discovered artists like
Nirvana,
Miles Davis and
Fiona Apple only after she had broken away from that strict church. After wandering New York and Atlanta, she settled in Nashville where she recorded her second album, Silences, with
Aaron Dessner (
The… National and as a producer best known for his work with Taylor Swift). Successor A Southern Gothic she produced herself, alongside executive producer T-Bone Burnett. An album that delivers what the title promises, with brooding roots rock songs that hint at the ritualistic aspect of Victoria's religious background. The rhythms are always dragging and the guitars raw and bluesy, as a backdrop for Victoria's dark and tormented vocals. An atmosphere sometimes reminiscent of PJ Harveys album To Bring You My Love (1995), but much more authentic. This music is audibly rooted in Adia Victoria's soul and that is its great strength. (MR)more
