Floridian Adrienne Young keeps both feet in the simplicity of the past as she reaches for the relevance of the present. On her sophomore CD, The Art of Virtue, Ms. Young gathers 15 tunes, most of them from her pen, inspired by Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues (sincerity, justice, frugality, tranquility, etc.).
Musically, she takes the roots of bluegrass and folk and coats them with pop sheen. She sounds like a vintage version of Alison Krauss. Ms. Young also has a knack for story songs, from the real-life murder tale at the heart of "Rastus Russell" to the exploration of inner strength and resilience that is "Ella Arkansas."
She really aims for yesterday during her takes on the traditional songs "Farther Along" and "Billy in the Low Ground," here segued into one track. And her sweet rendition of the Grateful Dead chestnut "Brokedown Palace" reveals the cut's solemn beauty.

Mario Tarradell