Darcia Senft has a sweet warmth to her voice you can just sink into. Sounding like a mixture of Alison Krauss’ innocence blended with the rich wisdom of Bonnie Raitt, Senft flows with ease over these 13 tracks, often accompanied by nothing more than James Hickerson’s crisp acoustic guitar. Briefly stepping out of the bluegrass songbird role, Senft grits it up as a world-weary blues-mama on the notable track “Broken Blues.” Her voice slides like honey over the sparse guitars, with heartbroken lyrics bemoaning a lost love. Overall, Storms in the Cellar plays like a series of lullabies. On the slow country track, “Move on By,” Senft croons, “just tell me your troubles, then move on by.” It’s difficult not to be comforted by Senft’s reassuring words.

Published in Volume 63, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 29, 2009)