I can hardly believe it's been more than a decade since I reviewed work from The Virginia Gentlemen, a fixture of my a cappella listening since probably the late '80s. Critically speaking, when last I heard them, their work had stagnated somewhat — that is, they were continuing to churn out adequate, capable, very straightforward arrangements of both mainstream and slightly quirkier material, and the end result was pleasant, if unremarkable.

The intervening dozen years or so don't seem to have changed the group all that much, though Pasta Nights is perhaps most favorably spoken about with specificity as to a couple of its better components, rather than generally as to its overall feel and impact.

Because if it's overall feel and impact you're after, sadly, Pasta Nights isn't going to raise your blood flow above a resting pulse. When the closest you may come to "rocking out" is Maggie Rogers's Light On, and everything else is mid-tempo or mellower, it means you're not likely to bust out this album in its entirety for a long road trip. Even a quasi-electronic choice like Replay, with the big release in its chorus, barely got my head moving. Especially in the background voices, there has been, and apparently continues to be, a "square"-ness to the Gentlemen that they can't quite escape. The cumulative effect is very Lite FM.

There are also a couple of not insignificant artistic/interpretive choices here that leave me seriously scratching my head. I typically try my best to be generous in this regard, as there are far too many collegiate a cappella groups (including the Gentlemen at one time) who don't bother with meaningful interpretive choices at all and opt instead for faithful transcriptions. But in the case of both The Joke and Make You Proud, I legit struggled to understand what the arrangers were chasing. Both are (or seem to me to be) serious songs with serious intentions, speaking to people in challenging or troubled situations. As rendered here, the jazzier groove on The Joke robs the former of its reassuring, heart-rending, anthemic quality (it's also hard for anyone to match Brandi Carlile). By the end, it feels more like an excuse to riff than a heartfelt interpretation of the song's message. Similarly, the words of Make You Proud are serious and quite dark — this very tidy and "pat" version seems utterly oblivious to what's being sung.

Returning to the component parts, however, there is absolutely some commendable work. First and foremost, the arranging of Philip DiMeglio deserves the greatest kudos — in particular on the opening two songs, where he keeps it interesting with re-harms and extra rhythmic layers as we move through each tune, but also manages to resist the temptation to get too big, too loud, too complicated. Fire and Rain certainly strikes me as a very unlikely choice to open a collegiate a cappella album (little did I know how mellow the rest would be, too), but DiMeglio's taste and deft touch keeps it interesting enough to keep me engaged.

Secondly, even when the background arrangement may not be supporting them as robustly as I might have wanted, there are several soloists who distinguish themselves either with vocal dexterity and/or an ability to capture just the right timbre to echo the original without being too obviously an imitation. DiMeglio has the perfect folksy, Taylor-esque feel for Fire and Rain; Jay Moody is a Billy Porter-esque riffing machine on Human Nature (which threatens to get a little fanciful but just barely manages not to); Langston "Lex" Long brings an intensity and warmth to his solo on Weak (even as the backs seem to be singing a different song); Heath Yancey's Bublé impression on Feeling Good is reasonably on point; and while Joshua Bertrand doesn't have the lived-in grit of Chris Stapleton (who does, especially at that age), Bertrand does well to capture the soul of the material (even while the immovable, metronomic background pads sound mostly disinterested in the proceedings).

I mentioned that Pasta Nights isn't likely an album to listen to straight through, and I realize very few folks even do that anymore, so perhaps that's not a concern. I'd absolutely recommend you check out the first 20% — beyond that, stick with the pasta for something more filling.

Pasta Nights has a Dawson's Creek soundtrack/red wine and thick blankets vibe: mellow, midtempo songs, with lots of complicated relationship stories playing out in the lyrics. With the exception of some old-timey razzle dazzle on Feeling Good, I'm not sure there's another true aggressive staccato or assertive rhythmic section to create urgency on this whole soft-tongued release. We can certainly say there was a unifying mood for Pasta Nights.

It's no surprise that the standard Fire and Rain sounds so absolutely delightful and perfect for Pasta Nights. Still, that's a bold choice to open an album; usually, this is more like track three material in the collegiate realm, but here it's a great introduction to both The Virginia Gentlemen and the release ahead. The way the arrangement opens up into a beautifully grand, enveloping sound in the second verse is just right. The lead, Philip DiMeglio, sounds earnest and authentic, like he's lived the life James Taylor wrote about. The audio work is crisp and clear, giving a nice update to the classic. Frankly, this could be the right "a cappella gateway song" for those standing at the edge of our genre, waiting for their invitation to join us. Send it around, see what happens.

Moving along, it's the leads on tracks two and three that earn excellent marks. The delicate, precision riffing from Jay Moody on Human Nature is surreal, lending an interesting fragility to the piece. The rustic, dirt road vibe of Light On with capable Dean Barton on the lead microphone sounds just right, a great match all around for The Virginia Gentlemen.

Other pieces on Pasta Nights are just too soft and laid back, not offering enough to really dig into. I'd put The Joke and Intentions here. Tennessee Whiskey has a delightful lead from Joshua Bertrand, but the blocky arrangement isn't complementing his vocal skills. And while I like the darker sentimental message of Make You Proud for variance, it's a little too sleepy to close out this night. But under no circumstance should you skip over Weak — you'll want to hear the showstopping, satin-voiced Lex Long crooning for you. I mean, anyone would happily take a whole album from a voice like this.

And so, a cappella mainstays The Virginia Gentlemen have given us a release full of beautiful leads and some folksy tunes that'll stick with you. I'm not suggesting a release of only electronica or rap, but a bit more youthful vim and vigor the next go-around could create a full offering from The Virginia Gentlemen.

Stop me if this sounds familiar — after a tough day at the office or a full day of classes, we have just a limited amount of time to run home and make dinner before having to head back out for evening performances or school functions. Sure, it would be amazing to spend an hour in the kitchen preparing a colorful and intricate meal to dazzle the senses, but you don't have time for that. What you do have time for is to boil a pot of water quickly, heat up some meatballs, and make yourself a quick bowl of pasta. Is it the best thing you've ever made? Probably not. But it sure can hit the spot.

That's where I am with Pasta Nights — it's not the most out-of-the-box album that has been released, and this has been feedback that my colleagues have given in previous album releases, too. That said, what the Gentlemen have released is a quality record that will certainly be appealing to any causal a cappella listener.

The opening track, Fire and Rain, is a good example of what to expect from the whole album. The arrangement isn't much different from the original James Taylor release, but the Gentlemen find their moments to put their stamp on the track. There's a bit of added dynamics in the backgrounds on the second verse that I appreciate, and much of that is influenced by soloist (and arranger) Philip DiMeglio, who adds some vocal runs to that verse (such as the one on "you just gotta see me through another DAY"). It's little moments like these that can really elevate the arrangement, and there are plenty of these types of examples throughout the entire record. Replay has a number of these moments, with the driver coming from vocal percussion Cavan Meade in the choruses helping to build the rest of the group (with some nice production work from James Gammon to go along with it).

The one major critique I do have with the track list, despite the wide variety of artists, is that there's not a lot of variety in overall feel. After the first three tracks — Fire and Rain, Human Nature, and Light On — which are all slower and quite emotional ballad-type tracks, I was crossing my fingers for a more upbeat track to mix it up a bit. Instead, we get Brandi Carlile's The Joke and Charlie Burg's Intentions, which, while both sung beautifully, draw from the same grouping of emotions. Feelin' Good and Tennessee Whiskey are possibly the most energetic out of the ten tracks on the record … not the biggest leap for the listener. On the next release, I challenge the Gentlemen to showcase a bit more from the emotional palette — not saying they need to go full headbanger rock if they don't want to, but the additional variety goes a long way to keep the listener fully engaged.

As I look forward to the next release from the Gentlemen, I will certainly keep Pasta Nights in my a cappella rotation ... just maybe not the entire album unless I'm in a certain mood.