A starkly cheerless set of baroque pop and nakedly honest singer/songwriter fare, Fancie, aka Elisabeth Wood, succeeds on finding her own distinctive voice with her first release. Originally a backup singer for Kaitlyn ni Donovan (who also pops up on violin on three tracks), Wood emerges as a songwriter of uncommon intensity and vulnerability. Somberly beautiful and depressingly sincere, Wood delivers her pained musings on life and lost love with an undeniably strong voice echoed by the unique use of obscure alternative guitar tunings. An excellent finger-style guitarist as well, her songwriting is concise yet fairly elaborate, revealing hidden tempo changes and chord progressions. Admittedly, some of the tracks lack a certain immediacy, as it is somewhat disconcerting to wallow in their variety of gloominess for 14 tracks. Still, A Negative Capability is altogether solid and bears up well under repeated listens, with an enveloping honesty that lingers long after the albums last track has ended. ~ Matt Fink