Oh what a difference a decade+ makes!

That's how long it's been since I last heard Low Key from James Madison University and, as evidenced on Golden Hour, the intervening years have seen a major step forward in terms of arranging, performance, and overall sound quality.

Taking that last part first, James Gammon — who handled recording, editing, and mastering — deserves a meaningful piece of the credit for the improvements here, as his always-polished production work and facility with first-rate sampled vp and "clubby" sound serves the group very well here. While the overall arranging is vastly superior here vs 2011's Self-Titled even when the group veers toward slightly simplistic (more on that below), the gloss that Gammon is able to apply to a primarily bass + vp + homophonic/block chord backs arrangement ensures that the soundscape is always full and aurally pleasing.

But thankfully, the need for that is an exception rather than the rule. Chris Little delivers what is probably the best top-to-bottom arranging work on the album with Diamonds, which is perfectly suited to the group's apparent affinity for driving rhythms and dance-y bops. DeJuan Woods Jr and Nick Gomez-Colon are the biggest arranging contributors by volume, and Woods, in particular — in addition to a solid solo on Morning Light — demonstrates a real flair for "color" chords and vocal flourishes that add to his musical interpretation of a cover tune.

On the topic of interpretation, however, what may still be holding the group from vaulting its scores even higher is a measure of homogenization and (I'll call it) "insensitivity" to musical feel. Yes, a cappella groups don't have other instruments to lay the chordal foundation, but that doesn't mean that every song has to move to a full chordal and/or rhythmic establishing sound from the get-go. Morning Light is a mellow, soulful groove with a sort of electro-NOLA-second-line feel, and here it lands squarely in a mid-tempo easy-listening groove almost immediately, robbing the original of its character (and not substituting any new character of its own). Erase Me is nicely done here, but it starts so full and so big that it has nowhere to build to, nor does it change significantly. Break My Broken Heart is perhaps even more guilty of that latter issue — it gets where it's going very quickly (which isn't terribly interesting) and just kinda stays there. Talk It Up is a fantastic song choice, but the jazz-infused, swingy bounce of the original is smoothed over so quickly in favor of a more driving beat (and the "bweh bweh bweh bweh" near the end, along with the "zhanna dee da" of To Be Loved are remnants of arranging weaknesses from 10+ years ago that the group would be best to leave in their rearview mirror).

Another area for growth for Low Key on the arranging side would be in their use of more rhythmically-layered arrangements. As noted above, Gammon's work means the vp and bass are still a solid rhythm section, but what's so effective in Diamonds and, to an extent in Every Summertime (though it's actually too busy in the choruses for my taste), and what elevates them, are the layers of rhythms in the background vocals. The group does some version of "enhanced" homophony — block chords on syllables or word echoes, with a given voice sometimes stepping out for a flourish — really, really well. But this isn't a 5-person group a la Pentatonix and the like. That arranging style is effective to be sure, but they have the voices to spare. So in the same they way they embrace harmonic complexity I'd very much like to hear those additional voices used in service of a more rhythmically complex and richer sound as well.

With that said, this is a group I now "have my ear on", which is something I would have scoffed at if you asked me in the early 2010s. Kudos to both the talent pool at JMU and to the group for continuing to develop and grow with such evident success. I look forward to hearing what's next!

The bookends for Golden Hour start and end this show in the best possible light for Low Key: songs that really do embody the golden hour of our days. The gospel choir vibe of Morning Light kicks off this release in a refreshing, earnest, authentic way — you can hear the smiles, you can see the dew on the grass. On the back end, Every Summertime is just as fresh, with a vibrant lead and a whole mood about it that's hard to turn off. Great first impression, enduring last impression.

Since we haven't received any Low Key submissions in over a decade, I was pretty curious what the middle of this release would hold. Most especially, because the releases we did receive back then didn't hit us that hard. A decade for a professional group would introduce profound changes in technology's cabilities and possibly new members in the line-up. For a collegiate group, it's basically generations of time, as the group roster has turned over completely multiple times.

I like what I hear.

There's a laid-back r&b vibe permeating through Golden Hour. It's an easy casualness, like they've simply gathered to perform their riffs and runs and snaps, because the hard work of rehearsals is done and they know their stuff. Often, when it doesn't sound too overworked, the producer (James Gammon) is doing his job, too. With a big pool of group arrangers and drummers, the end product can have pretty big highs and lows amid quality dips, but not so with Golden Hour.

This vibe and a continued gospel-esque vibe continues with Bad Blood, before Diamonds offers up a new spin. Pretty risky arrangement, with a solo nearly out of the lead's lower range, and a transition to a very lively tempo that could border on frenetic if control is lost, but it's a fun piece to jam to. Love those little "ha ha ha"s in the backs. Similar punchy backgrounds and crisp rhythms make Erase Me a complete and delightful track.

Continuing the 2-song grouping, To Be Loved and Break My Broken Heart are somber and raw, the furthest points away from those sunny opening and closing tracks. To Be Loved is a confessional piece, with a very poignant lead giving it everything with a "I will choose to lose" message. The lovely arrangement crests up like a wave to gently roll her home. Break My Broken Heart is as sad as the title promises, with another poignant lead casting a spell on listeners.

Big finish time: a self-empowerment romp with Talk It Up and swoon-worthy Every Summertime. "4"s across the song board: very hard to maintain that steady "good" line. Very impressed with this era of Low Key. To propel higher, I'd balance the easy casualness with bouts of razor-sharp blend and full-support chords for intensity. There's lots of warm breathiness on this release, which keeps the style and overall sound tightly unified, but sometimes it's nice to really power-rock with a harsher edge, too.

Golden Hour has a lot to admire. So glad our journey with Low Key begins anew.

Golden Hour is a marked upward trajectory from the last Low Key release we reviewed at RARB, 2011's Self-Titled, which itself was a step up from the group's earlier albums. That said, while it's unfair to compare the group's current release to their recordings from over a decade ago, Golden Hour is a pleasant surprise for me based on my last memory of the group. It sounds fresh and contemporary, with a selection of songs that work with the group's current sound and soloists.

The most memorable song on this album is the striking Erase Me. Soloist Jaiden Casey is literal fire (I'm not sure that RARB is ready just to put the "fire" emoji in the middle of a review, but that's what I'm getting at here). In the first verse, every time I don't think her voice can sink lower and still flow, it does, and then it soars beautifully in the choruses. Such range, both melodically and emotionally — and the arrangement (courtesy of DeJuan Woods Jr.) pushes when it needs to be rich and vibrant, and it pulls back when the spotlight needs to be on Casey alone. Chills and goosebumps, every time. This is the type of performance that groups should shoot for, every time: whether you know Lizzy McAlpine's original song in advance or not, it connects immediately and is gorgeous and memorable.

There are plenty of other excellent moments on Golden Hour: the lilting Break My Broken Heart and the sultry Bad Blood (Nao, not Taylor Swift) are both in a second tier very close behind Erase Me.

The songs on Golden Hour that are less successful are the ones where I forget that the group is a mixed group, not an all-upper-register group. Every Summertime and To Be Loved are both lovely performances, but they feel like they're missing more of a presence from the lower register. Judging from the pictures on the group's web site and Spotify page, their membership skews disproportionately to the upper register, so their sound does accurately reflect their membership; however, I would've liked for these songs to sound more balanced and bring out some of the lower tones — even with some studio wizardry — on songs where the soloist isn't in the lower register.

All in all, Golden Hour is a thoroughly enjoyable release from a group that historically has not really held my attention. I'm really glad that they've continued to improve (and have decided to submit to RARB again!), as the album has quite a few excellent performances, and Erase Me is one that will stick with me for quite some time.