Anonymous 4
's 2004 album
American Angels
, a collection of
folk
and
gospel
songs that stood in contrast to the
a cappella
group's usual focus on ancient and
classical
vocal music, was a major hit, reaching the top of the
Billboard
chart and selling a reported 80,000 copies. Surprisingly,
picked this moment to announce that they would no longer be a full-time entity. Nevertheless, two years later, they are back with
Gloryland
, a follow-up to
containing "Folk songs, Spirituals, [and] Gospel hymns of Hope & Glory." There are, however, changes. The group has wisely brought in two instrumental accompanists,
Darol Anger
on violin and mandolin, and
Mike Marshall
on guitar, mandolin, and mandocello, and given them co-billing. And the part-time nature of the foursome is reflected in the carefully delineated performing credits, which show that all of them are not present on all tracks -- in fact,
A4
get together on only nine out of 19 -- but that
Marsha Genensky
, who penned the liner notes and is awarded an assistant producer credit, is on all but two, an instrumental reading of
"Wayfaring Stranger"
by
Anger
Marshall
, and a solo by
Susan Hellauer
on
"The Wagoner's Lad."
Hellauer
, meanwhile, is on every track but three. It is thus not a surprise to read in the liner notes that
Genensky
are forming their own duo,
the Lost Girls
. As with
, the performances by the singers in their various combinations are lovely and pristine. If anything, in fact, the singing is too pretty; this is rural music usually performed by untrained voices, and the effect of hearing
render it is not unlike hearing
Judy Collins
sing an old
song; it's beautiful, but it doesn't sound real. The instrumentalists are a big help in this regard, however, adding an underpinning of authenticity to the sound. On their own, the members of
come off like a small Protestant choir in a country church that has somehow been transported to heaven, removing the imperfections and personalities of the singers and turning them into angels. Even the songs about secular concerns (mostly lost love) sound not of this world. ~ William Ruhlmann