In the Magic Hour

One of the most compelling tracks on Yo-yo Ma's adventurous "Goat Rodeo Sessions" was an intelligently written piece featuring Crooked Still folk singer Aoife O'Donovan. O'Donovan, who hails from the Boston area and occurs somewhere between Jonatha Brooke and Alison Krause, released a solo album not long after that revealed a promising indie artist. Now, three years later, she has released an emotive follow-up called The Magic Hour. O'Donovan has a pitch-perfect voice that toggles effortlessly across at least three octaves. It's supple and intimate - more confident here than on her first solo effort, and more contemporary than on her folk-oriented work with Crooked Still. Her lyrical view pulls strongly from childhood imagery, bending wonder and discovery into takes on love and longing. On the title track, she opines: "In the magic hour when the moonlight gleams and the sky's the kind of grey that you've never seen 'til you've seen it..." It's beautiful stuff, and easy to see why the world's most renowned cellist gave her the call.

a really strong album….all the components coming together (vocals, songwriting, instruments, and production). love me some aoife, and this might be her best.

Aoife knocked it out of the park on this album! The lyrics are raw and absolutely beautiful. Her voice is in perfect harmony with the instrumentals. This has to be the best album I've heard all year

Aoife has such a beautiful and ethereal voice. The arrangements have subtle complexities that make each listen a little different. Each song is unique, but bird and childhood references tie the whole thing in a sweet bow!

Beautiful voice, melodies and lyrics. She's one of the best in her genre.