Gregory And The Hawk’s “Quarantunes” sings softly

With the new album (well, more of an EP, really) “Quarantunes,” Gregory and the Hawk descends from the mountain of folk music to grace us mortals with angelic choruses, ghostly guitar and haunting melodies.

The group’s first full-length album in nearly five years since the Patreon-funded video album “Texas Collectious,” G&TH plays their harplike melodies straight with a new trance edge.

With the opener “For Now,” Godreau combines the feeling of playing “Animal Crossing” with the heart of falling in love. Another highlight is “Peace Like Rivers,” a piercing emotional ballad about a relationship fraught with difficulties, pulling this theme home with the haunting line, “I turn our talk back to work now, say there are certain games I won’t play.”

This whole album is littered with motifs of oceanside thoughts and the sounds of seabirds. The strikes through most obviously in the song “Fire At The Ocean,” which paints the story of a becoming lover to off kilter guitar, which forms a deliciously complex polyrhythm that is pointed out by the song itself, mirroring the narration’s misguided but sweet direction.

The oceanic theme continues with the song “Name In The Clouds,” seaspray glinting off the timbre of a warm upright piano fading into strings and synthesizer work. The lyrics “My love for you is coming right on down, into the waves and the rays” is uniquely captivating.

This album closely beats out 2010’s “Leche” for my new favorite album by Gregory and The Hawk, placing it as my first pick for a rainy day.