Anonymous 4′s 2004 album American Angels, a collection of folk and gospel songs that stood in contrast to the a cappella group’s usual focus on ancient and classical vocal music, was a major hit, reaching the top of the Billboard classical chart and selling a reported 80,000 copies. Surprisingly, Anonymous 4 picked this moment to announce that they would no longer be a full-time entity. Nevertheless, two years later, they are back with Gloryland, a follow-up to American Angels containing “Folk songs, Spirituals, [and] Gospel hymns of Hope & Glory.” There are, however, changes. The group has wisely brought in two instrumental accompanists, Darol Anger on violin and mandolin, and Mike Marshall on guitar, mandolin, and mandocello, and given them co-billing. And the part-time nature of the foursome is reflected in the carefully delineated performing credits, which show that all of them are not present on all tracks — in fact, A4 get together on only nine out of 19 — but that Marsha Genensky, who penned the liner notes and is awarded an assistant producer credit, is on all but two, an instrumental reading of “Wayfaring Stranger” by Anger and Marshall, and a solo by Susan Hellauer on “The Wagoner’s Lad.” Hellauer, meanwhile, is on every track but three. It is thus not a surprise to read in the liner notes that Genensky and Hellauer are forming their own duo, the Lost Girls. As with American Angels, the performances by the singers in their various combinations are lovely and pristine. If anything, in fact, the singing is too pretty; this is rural music usually performed by untrained voices, and the effect of hearing Anonymous 4 render it is not unlike hearing Judy Collins sing an old folk song; it’s beautiful, but it doesn’t sound real. The instrumentalists are a big help in this regard, however, adding an underpinning of authenticity to the sound. On their own, the members of Anonymous 4 come off like a small Protestant choir in a country church that has somehow been transported to heaven, removing the imperfections and personalities of the singers and turning them into angels. Even the songs about secular concerns (mostly lost love) sound not of this world. – William Ruhlmann