Nina Nastasia – Outlaster (LP Burgundy)

Recording once more with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Nina Nastasia engaged Los Angeles instrumentalist and arranger Paul Bryan to adapt her songs into a score for a small orchestra. Featuring drummer Jay Bellerose and Chicago guitarist Jeff Parker, Outlaster is aided by, all in all, a dream band. This album is a work of lush sophistication that, with no loss of distinction or economy, transcends the reach of Nastasia’s famed sparseness. The orchestra takes a more formal approach with Bryan’s powerfully affecting score – hearkening back to the likes of Gil Evans and the late Phil Ochs – burnishing the record with lustrous horns and reeds and a dynamic string ensemble.

After being out of print for more than a decade, Outlaster is finally available on vinyl again. Remastered for vinyl by Josh Bonati in 2025, this Outlaster reissue is pressed onto limited edition Burgundy coloured vinyl.

Tracklist:

Side A
1. Cry, Cry, Baby (3:43)
2. Moves Away (1:50)
3. You’re a Holy Man (3:33)
4. You Can Take Your Time (4:49)
5. This Familiar Way (5:03)

Side B
1. What’s Out There (3:59)
2. A Kind of Courage (4:08)
3. Wakes (4:23)
4. One Way Out (2:55)
5. Outlaster (5:19)