Innocence Mission – Now The Day Is Over
An album of timeworn standards was probably inevitable eventually for the Innocence Mission, given that singer Karen Peris distinctive imprint of a voice and husband Don Peris talent for guitar-textured moodscapes makes the band ideally suited for interpretive excursions. Think Victoria Williams 2002 collection Sings Some Ol Songs, with less folksy twang and more lullaby lilt.
The common bond with Williams disc extends to the tracklist both albums include Moon River and Over The Rainbow. (Theres also What A Wonderful World, which Williams covered on an earlier album.) Many of the other tracks here are equally familiar, from the Disney chestnut Stay Awake to Rodgers & Hammer-steins Edelweiss to the traditional ditty Bye-Lo. Theres even a couple of classical interludes, Chopins Prelude In A and Beethovens Sonata No. 8.
One suspects the Perises may have had children recently, as this disc seems precisely like the type of record geared for soothing toddlers. Regardless, it casts an equally peaceful spell for grown-ups when the time is right, particularly late-night (true to its title) or early-morning.
Theres just one original, Karens My Love Goes With You; those anticipating another batch of Innocence Mission originals as beguiling as their mid-90s hallmark Glow will have to wait a little longer. In its own way, though, Now The Day Is Over stands with the bands most fully realized work to date.