Grace and Lies

New York’s Family Band began with the married duo of vocalist/visual artist Kim Krans and guitarist Johnny Ollsin, eventually expanding to include bassist and lap steel player Scott Hirsch. This is the trio’s second full-length, a collection of hauntingly stark folk-rock that's graceful and oddly soothing even in its austerity. Krans’ unemotional vocals glide seamlessly over twinkling synth baubles, flickering electronics, or darkly thudding piano notes, while Ollsin’s spare guitar offers up both impressionistic streaks of unease and delicate fingerpicked acoustic guitar. Stately songs hint at tragedy or heartbreak, moving the way a grieving mourner might approach an internment site, full of dread and sadness. Tunes like “Grace & Lies” and “Ride” are bound with the same tightly reined emotions that color the work of the beautiful (and somewhat similar) Gem Club. “Again” hints at a mournful Appalachian twang, which more than suits the band; a barren lap steel calls out plaintively under Krans’ waltzing vocal melody. The lovely “Moonbeams” echoes with a cold loneliness in its bottomless piano notes.