Anonymous 4

With this new album, the angelic Anonymous 4 leave their gothic and Renaissance roots and explore some of the roots of musical Americana: 18th-century psalmody, 19th-century “shaped-note” singing, and well-known Southern gospel songs. These history-book descriptions of musical style, however, offer no hint of the lovely, breathtaking lyricism and sensitive singing of this CD. The members of Anonymous 4 sing true, without a trace of a condescending Southern affectation or revisionist classical stylistic adaptations of the rural sacred sound. The result is music that warmly soothes you and truly uplifts the spirit. All 20 songs are musical wonders. Here is a recording you can’t put down. It’s beautifully produced, with extensive notes and texts that, as with the music, you’ll return to again and again.