Welch expands on her traditionalist debut, "Revival," and strips things down to the acoustic basics.  Standouts include the powerfully beautiful blues melody on "Good Til Now,"  and the banjo and mountain-saga of "The Devil Had a Hold of Me." "My Morphine" is a gentle ballad with a yodel slowed to la-de-da speed, while "One Morning," "Miner's Refrain," and "I'm Not Afraid to Die" showcase her skill with vocal nuance and melody.  Welch works best when accompanied only by her guitar and banjo, and by the guitar and backing vocals of David Rawlings.  I have the same problem, though, with Welch as I do with 16 Horsepower (whose recent album is terrible): next time write some songs with a bit more personal experience rather than cooking up these new traditionals.  Welch does it well, so well that you'd think she pulled these songs from a vault in Nashville or from some attic in an old farmhouse in the heart of Kentucky bluegrass country.  That's fine, but she risks falling through the cracks of musical tastes and trends unless she makes something her own.  

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