An album that’s not only remarkable for its attention to craftsmanship and keen emotional observations, this new volume from Meredith Bragg instills in the listener - via pieces such as “Cindy’s Song” (all seven minutes of it), “Cindy’s Song” and “My Only Enemy” - a nearly impenetrable sense of serenity and solitude. In its way, it’s a guarantee that just past boundaries that separate our music-listening selves from day-to-day selves, there’s a warm friend who’ll understand whatever aches and bruises the world has issued upon us. It’s in Bragg’s voice, in the creak of his guitar strings on the astounding “Seventeen” and in the cello lines of Elizabeth Olson, who’s as fundamental to the poignant success too much of the material on this album as Bragg himself. – Jedd Beaudoin

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Singer-songwriter Meredith Bragg releases one of the nicest acoustic pop CDs of '05. Bragg's lilting melodic constructions are infectiously catchy. On "Carolina" and "Before the Storm," he spins out diaphanously lovely tunes. The sing along "oohs and ahs" of the extended track "I Won't Let you Down" defy you not to join in.

There is more than a passing resemblance between Bragg's voice and Ben Gibbard's (Death Cab for Cutie, the Postal Service). While the wistful lovelorn quality of songs like "Bitter at Best" and "My Only Enemy" might tempt one to take the comparison still further, Volume One is a far more unplugged affair than much of Gibbard's recent work. Pianist/vibraphonist Brian Minter, cellist Elizabeth Olson, and drummer Jonathan Roth join Bragg to craft delicate chamber music arrangements. What's more, Bragg's songwriting stands up nicely on its own; Volume One is chock full of memorable ballads and gentle pop confections. -Christian Carey