Bless My Sole

In a perfect world, Angel Band's third album, Bless My Sole — or at least parts of it — would enjoy a great deal of exposure on commercial country stations. But instead of being embraced by corporate country outlets, this female country-rock/folk-rock vocal trio has received much of its FM radio exposure from the NPR/college radio crowd, which is to be expected given Angel Band's lack of slickness. And those who have been describing Angel Band as a cross between the Indigo Girls' folk-rock and the country-rock of the Dixie Chicks and SHeDAISY (minus the slickness) will continue to see them that way after hearing Bless My Sole. This 2010 release picks up where 2008's With Roots and Wings left off, which means that Angel Band are still relevant to both country-rock and folk-rock. And they excel in both areas, providing an album that has a fair amount of diversity but is also impressively consistent. Angel Band's attractive sound never fails to command attention — their gorgeous vocal harmonies are an absolute delight — and the writing (group member Nancy Josephson co-wrote most of the material) is excellent. The only thing on Bless My Sole that isn't an original is Angel Band's country-rock arrangement of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down," which comes 40 years after the Fab Four's breakup and points to the fact that the John Lennon/Paul McCartney songbook is truly one of those rock & roll gifts that keeps on giving. Corporate country outlets that resisted With Roots and Wings will no doubt resist Bless My Sole as well, even though Lloyd Maines, father of Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, is listed as a co-producer. But that doesn't make Angel Band any less absorbing, and listeners who savored With Roots and Wings will want to savor Bless My Sole as well.