For his newest release, "I Am Become Joy", singer/songwriter/plarwright Adam Acuragi has assembled a fine cast of performers under the name of "The Lupine Chorale Society".
Arcuragi and his Society mine the familiar territory of folk/roots/country-twang but come up with a different product than most others are shopping around.
If you listen closely one of the first things you'll hear on this CD is a spontaneous peal of woman's laughter. Intentional or not it sets the mood for the rest of the collecction.
Arcurgi has clearly had his fill of Very Serious/Downer "folk" albums. On these new songs his voice soars with a clearity and hope, Adam sings with a clean, almost crisp, delivery. With his voice as the center of each piece the music inevitably falls in line: upbeat, sharply played and never overdone the end result is an infectious sparkle that can only be called POP music.
The elements assembled here may not be part of current mainstream trends (the punctuating/accenting horn section, the gospel flourish on "Lunch in Field Four", the perky country of "Bottom of the RIver", the overall congregational effect) but the music on "I am Become Joy" is *so* accessible, so welcoming that it should be played on radio stations across the states.
