Girlyman
Little Star
(Daemon)

On their second release, folk trio Girlyman deliver 12 more songs of the harmonious “gender pop” that defined their stellar first album, “Remember Who I Am.” For any other band trying to sustain a buzz following a critically acclaimed debut, simply delivering more of the same might be the kiss of death (see: the Strokes), but Girlyman have a couple of points in their favor. One, they don’t have to worry about the pressure to sell mass numbers of CDs that often accompanies being signed to a major label. Secondly, this threesome have mastered their blend of infectious melodies, heartbreaking lyrics, and gorgeous harmonies so well this time around that to dismiss “Little Star” for that reason would be to miss out on some of the best folk music to come around in ages. The band starts strong with “On the Air,” which recounts an aging star’s regretful decision to leave a successful TV career in favor of big-screen fame (or is it a treatise on lost love?), then settles into a steady succession of lovely mid-tempo ballads. “Superior” tells the sad tale of the death of a child, while “Speechless” finds singer Doris Muramatsu contemplating the miracle of finding love. Politics and social issues factor into the mix as well: In “Young James Dean,” a young woman sings of being a social outcast (“I guess I’ll feel less than real all my life/With these feathers I made under me lifting me up/But I was a young James Dean/With a way with ladies/All the real boys in their black jeans/Called me crazy”). The three members’ voices blend effortlessly, and are equally matched by their songwriting choices: Bluesy numbers like Muramatsu’s “I Wonder Where You’ve Gone” and “Bird on the Wire” fit in well alongside Tylan Greenstein’s somber “Genevieve” and Nate Borofsky’s often sunny pop tunes (the strongest, “Kittery Tide,” is, in fact, a collaboration with Muramatsu). Impeccably produced by the band with Bob Harris, “Little Star” is the sound of a mini musical revolution in the making. Indeed, contemporary folk hasn’t sounded this fresh and inviting since Shawn Colvin first came along.

—Ken Knox