[This review was first published in Badaboom Gramophone #3 and appears here with permission.]
This seven-member ensemble from Richmond, Virginia plays soft acoustic songs that owe more to storytelling dynamics than the folk settings in which the instrumentation is usually employed. Mandolins, banjos, organs, a cello and an accordion delicately are combined into a sparse sound, wrapping a thin cushion around P.J. Alverson’s gritty, hushed vocals. The slow pace of A Derby Spiritual contributes to its twilight perspective.