Still, I have a habit of always checking the thrift store CD rack, just in case a gem or two snuck into the donation stack. This paid off recently when I found a copy of Ida's "I Know About You." It was a record I never owned but had heard and loved so I bought it for a dollar and immediately forwarded the track in my car to "Tellings," a song I can still picture the band performing at a mid-'90s show opening for Low at La Salle University.

That I'm starting out a review of the band's 2008 release with references to 1996 should be warning enough that Ida is a band I haven't given much thought in a long time. But their unexpected re-entrance into my life couldn't have come at a more appropriate time, right on the heels of a new release. See, my excitement for Ida has drastically declined since I last heard the aforementioned record. "Heart Like A River"--the band's 2005 release--was so easily forgettable I can't remember where I put it (maybe it ended up in my thrift store donation pile) and the pair of releases before that were probably about equal.

From the opening note of "Lovers Prayers," I could tell there would be something different about this record. Whether it's my rediscovered love of the band or my engaged self attaching to the record's mystical spin on love, there's plenty to take away with each listen to keep me coming back.

Recorded at Levon Helm's home studio in Woodstock, N.Y., the record has all of the elements that one would expect from a band with six records under their belt over the span of 15-plus years.

It's still minimal folk with a heavy concentration on the ethereal male-female combo of Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell's voices layered over subtle soundscapes. Stylistically, the record flashes signs of folk, rock, blues and even world music influence without ever settling into a sound that would make the band ripe for comparison to some other act. There's enough of a pop sensibility to make the songs catchy mixed with enough of a experimental approach to encourage repeated listens.

In "Surely Gone" it's a sparse progression on the piano and a scattered collection of voices mixed with an occasional guitar part that drives the song. On "See the Stars" it's the slow beat of the drum that moves the listener to a waltz under a darkened star-filled sky. The album's last song, "Blue Clouds," uses what sounds like a ukulele and a violin to create a catchy, lullaby-esque farewell with a sugary sweet melody. When a record is holding up this strong at the end it's almost always a good sign.

Time will ultimately tell whether this disc will hold up as well as the one that rekindled my interest in Ida in the first place. But right now I'd say calling this Ida's finest effort to date might be more than just a press release-inspired notion.

posted [02.21.08]