Iris Dement

Plainly beautiful, Iris DeMent's voice has the high country clarity rarely heard these days --
it would sound perfect whispering from a fireside Victrola. Her songs exert a similar
insinuating pull, wrapping the listener first in gossamer, then binding with emotional force.
Her words, gifted with the deceptively simple grace of a Southern Baptist hymn ("Like the
flowers I am fading/Into my setting sun"), convey the universal truths of myth. He... More >

Because it leads with the miraculous "Let the Mystery Be"--an agnostic's declaration of faith so homespun it makes the word agnostic seem absurdly hoity-toity and severe, so unfaltering it modestly conceals the tremendous intellectual effort her decision not to know self-evidently required--this Kansas City 31-year-old's debut has authenticity hounds in a lather. But she never gets so near perfection again--the catchy "Our Town" seems contrived by comparison, the signature "Infamous Angel" obscure. Also, she worries more about her sins than an agnostic should. It's hard to believe she's ever done anything that bad. (Grade: B+)