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The Holmes Brothers: State of Grace Label: Alligator Released: 2007

In an era of what appears to be declining overall church attendance, and strained – if not hostile – relations between religious and non-religious folks, the Holmes Brothers are more than just this country’s preeminent gospel/blues/folk/country/rock/soul group, they’re the answer to a lot of our problems. If church sounded like a Holmes Brothers album, you see, it would be a lot easier to get people in the door come Sunday morning. Of course, that doesn’t answer the question of how to come up with a Wendell Holmes, a Sherman Holmes, and a Popsy Dixon for every church in America, but hey, we can’t fix everything at once.

For fans of the late-blooming trio, State of Grace will hold few surprises, which is a good thing, since longtime Holmes Brothers listeners have grown accustomed to a seamless blend of solid originals and ingenious covers, all performed with an assured, dexterous grace. It sounds like junior publicist-level hyperbole, but it’s true; it just so happens that occasionally, an album comes along that doesn’t give you anything to complain about – and the Holmes Brothers are particularly adept at delivering such albums.

And the church connection shouldn’t be overstated, really; you don’t need to have any particular affiliation, or spiritual hankering, to enjoy these songs. If you’ve got the least bit of appreciation for roots music, or three-part harmonies, you’ll get a kick out of the album, if only just for the covers, a few of which include Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me,” given the slow devotional treatment, and Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat” and “God Will.” The latter is particularly stunning, and the song’s sly inversion of gospel stereotypes helps put everything that’s right about the Holmes Brothers into a nutshell. When the trio, joined by members of Ollabelle, sings, “And who keeps on loving you / When you've been lying / Saying things ain't what they seem / God does / But I don't / God will / But I won't / And that's the difference between God and me,” you may need to resist the urge to tithe.

The special guests on the album are nearly as gaudy as the covers – aside from the aforementioned Ollabelle, the group is joined by Levon Helm, Rosanne Cash, and Joan Osborne – but this is truly the Holmes Brothers’ show. It’s their command of the music, and those vocals, that have made them a favorite of roots-music enthusiasts and festival attendees for nearly 30 years. If you haven’t joined the flock yet, there’s no time like the present.