Originally released in a small edition in 2002 but reaching greater distribution when
the Wilders signed to Free Dirt Records five years later,
On the Wings of a Dove is an album of vintage country gospel tunes given respectful all-acoustic arrangements. There is no sense of hipster recontextualization or O Brother Where Art Thou? bandwagon jumping to these 16 achingly sincere tracks. Primary lead singers Ike Sheldon and
Betse Ellis have suitably ragged but right voices, and the solid but never showy instrumentation -- fiddle, banjo, Dobro, mandolin, that sort of thing -- would be as welcome at hoot night in a downtown coffeehouse as it would at the church summer social. Those with an aversion to old-time gospel should steer well clear, but
On the Wings of a Dove is one of those rare albums as likely to appeal to old-school country fans as it would to newer converts to the acoustic sound. ~ Stewart Mason