Lancaster, PA's
Innocence Mission
has been serving up quaint, lovingly crafted, East coast collegiate folk pop since 1989. Often compared to the
Sundays
(
IM
vocalist
Karen Peris'
diminutive voice and the
Sundays'
Harriet Wheeler'
s childlike croon can be nearly interchangeable), the band's 20-year run has been as quiet as it has been remarkably solid, and their ninth studio album,
My Room in the Trees
, does little to tarnish their gentle supremacy. The husband-and-wife-led trio's penchant for summery, fingerpicked, spiritually charged nostalgia is alive and well, especially on standout cuts like the Celtic-tinged opener
"Rain (Setting Out in the Leaf Boat)"
and its pastoral sibling
"Happy Mondays."
doesn't concern itself with the modern world; rather it presents an intimate appreciation of the verdant mundane. The soft, rolling
"Leaves Lift High"
wants nothing more than to celebrate the "tunnels of tall trees" that line a country bike ride, while the lovely
"Spring"
approaches its subject through the simple, metaphor-free eyes of a child. Longtime fans, especially those who enjoyed 2007's
We Walked in Song
, will find
the perfect tonic for the current speed of life, and while the pace can be glacial (to call an album sleepy, or sleep-inducing, often comes with negative connotations), it's never an unpleasant journey. ~ James Christopher Monger