Old-Time Pharmaceuticals is a duo consisting of Pat DeSimio on vocals and guitar, and Abby Nayra on vocals, harp and banjo.

Their first album, Roots & Honey, opens with an alluring taste of Nayra's voice and harp on "The Rose of Ben Nishaere" -- the first of several songs you'd likely guess was traditional. No, so far as I can tell, all 11 tracks are original to the band.

DeSimio picks up the baton for "Ramblin' after Rain," a jaunty vagabond song, and "Weigh Haul Away," a haunting sea shanty. Nayra then resumes the lead for a pair of vastly different songs; "In the Dark Missouri's Mud" is a moody ballad, while the too-brief "Midnight Train" is a burst of jazz-inflected fun.

DeSimio sings a celebration of slave-turned politician with "Captain Robert Smalls." Nayra's sorrowful "Joan and Victor Jara" mourns the murder of a Chilean teacher, singer-songwriter and political activist during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship through the eyes of his widow.

The album ends with four less memorable tracks: "Row Me Over Jordan," "The Peteport Fisher," "Who's the One" and "Lullaby of the Sky." Overall, it's an excellent debut recording, establishing the duo as singer-songwriters firmly entrenched in the folk tradition.

My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is the tiny laugh DeSimio injects into his vocals so frequently throughout the album. It was endearing the first time it appeared in "Ramblin' after Rain," but it pops up so often it becomes grating.

Like I said, it's a minor issue, one easily ignored after a while. Otherwise, this is a fine introduction to Old-Time Pharmaceuticals; I hope to hear more from them in the future!

Besides DeSimio and Nayra, the album features Don Richmond on banjo, fiddle, upright bass, bowed bass, accordion and tin whistle, Emma Sloniker and Colleen Crosson on vocals, and Dexter Payne on clarinet.

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