Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

American roots artist and Carolina Chocolate Drops singer Rhiannon Giddens' second solo album somehow takes two centuries worth of African/American history and presents it in a fashion that sounds brand new and ancient at the same time. With a musical landscape centred around Giddens' earthy banjo playing and her simply heart-stopping vocals, Giddens succeeds in embodying songs that contain brave and burdensome themes with the likes of the opener "At The Purchaser's Option" telling the devastating tale of a woman baring her child into an existing life of slavery whilst a cover of the Joan Baez classic "Birmingham Sunday" charts the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church by the Ku Klux Klan. Elsewhere, the Giddens-penned and Civil War-set "Julie" documents a telling conversation between mistress and slave before the infectiously bouncy "Hey Bebe" brings a lighter touch to proceedings with a stellar turn from Alphonso Horne on trumpet. Whilst the likes of "The Love We Almost Had" and the simply sublime "We Could Fly" could be viewed as generic songs of longing, setting them in the context of African/American history is what makes this album special and sets Giddens apart as a mouthpiece for voiceless ancestors who have struggled through atrocities and hardships. The beautiful "Baby Boy" - a song sung by three women caring about a child of great promise - is arguably the most spiritual song on the album whilst the title track, a cover of the old Staple Singers song, rounds off a truly breathtaking piece of work.

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