Reappearing every so often to weave their gentle spells, Pennsylvania trio
the Innocence Mission continue to capture in amber the wistful snapshots of life's unyielding progress and examine its many mysteries. Since paring down their already hushed folk-pop sound to a mostly acoustic drumless trio in 1997, the band has lived comfortably within their parameters of their tonal world, painting different textures here and there, but otherwise consistently delivering a familiar version of their pastoral chamber folk with each release.
Sun on the Square, their 12th full-length and first for the Bella Union label, follows 2015's
Hello I Feel the Same and once again offers a logical if somewhat lusher development of their signature style. With her soft dreamy vocals and measured approach,
Karen Peris' gift for melodic subtlety manifests itself on a number of highlights like "Green Bus" and the more expansive "Shadow of the Pines," two songs that dance nimbly between the dark and light places where emotions are most vulnerable. Poignant and poetic, she builds evocative vignettes out of seemingly simple scenes, describing with surprising richness the movements of her brother in the dusty afternoon light of the title song. The arrangements on these ten tracks are somewhat denser and more intricate than on the band's previous few outings, relying on rich string arrangements, horns, reverberating piano thrums and even a handful of clamorous drum parts from guitarist/multi-instrumentalist husband
Don Peris, who even takes a rare lead vocal turn on "Star of Land and Sea." Rather than chasing trends or aiming for reinvention,
the Innocence Mission seem content at this point in their career to carry on doing what they do best and expand on their trademark sound with another fine release. ~ Timothy Monger