If I Was

Editors’ Notes This British sister trio of Emily, Jessica, and Camilla Staveley-Taylor hooked up with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon in order to make a second album that didn’t repeat the simple charms of their first, 2012’s Dead & Born & Grown & Live. Their expressive harmonies are still centered, but the arrangements here move beyond spare acoustics into ethereal modes that shift their sound from modern folk toward a pleasant, atmospheric music likely to be embraced by fans of indie folk and mellow rock. It's not quite the Laurel Canyon vibe many were expecting—elements of Judee Sill’s sophistication come close—but a solid move artistically speaking.