The CD Frozen Trees by Wing & Hollow is a collection of eight songs by a new group, featuring the husband-and-wife team, Haven and Jill Lamoureux, with Haven on guitar and mandolin and Jill providing vocals. They say their music was inspired by the folk-rock of the 1960s and '70s.

Also on the album are Dorian on drums, bass, organ and percussion, Mike Powers on lap steel, Jay Leach on pedal steel, Arlan Schierbaum on Hammond B3 (air) vibes, Devin Lawrence on harmonica and Jake Boxberger on vox. The album was produced by Darian Heartsong.

So, what is the end result of these musicians performing together? We get a very good album that is dominated, but not overwhelmed, by guitar and vocals. The music is generally mellow and the lyrics are thought-provoking. When a group creates eight songs, all dominated by one guitarist and one vocalist, it can be easy to end up with an album that seems to blend together. This group, though, managed to create a sense of variation by changing pace, changing some of the accompanying instructs, and writing songs that make the listener want to listen to the lyrics and the stories they tell.

While watching shows like American Idol, The Voice, and America's Got Talent, I have seen there is talent out there, and it is tough for a group to stand out. If this group continues to produce songs like those in this album, Wing & Hollow could make it and stick around for a while.

The album starts strongly with very rhythmic guitar music, strong and soulful vocals and a ear-catching phrase, "How I learned to win the war," on "Frozen Trees." This is a prime example of how lyrics can stand out when delivered well, and make you want to listen to the story of the song. "Shadowman" is a slower, sadder song about fading love.

Great guitar work and strong vocals both shine on "Martyr," a song about getting lost in materialism and losing track of personal uniqueness. Starting with interesting percussions and harmonica, "Lock It Away" really stands out as different from the first three in sound. The lyrics continue some of the themes of people being defensive and growing apart because of it.

Preceded by the sound of running water, the soulful, wistful "On Goes the Air" starts very mellow, but then picks up in pace and in mood, before dropping off again. The lyrics tell of striving for something impossible, and the varying pace and mood reflects the pattern of grasping onto fleeting hope, and then going back to dealing with reality. "To Believe" had me from the opening guitar music; then the vocals come in to tell the story of believing in the potential for growth and change in all of us.

With crickets singing in the background in the beginning, "Evil Needs" is one of the best of the album, and leaves the listener wanting more.

There are some unusual sounds between some of the songs, like electronic beeping, running water and crickets chirping. The first time through the album, I found it distracting, but not the second time.

Does Wing & Hollow have what it takes to stand out in the crowd? I think there are suggestions in this CD that they do. Several songs demonstrate some genuine talent. The lyrics, for me, are a key component to that ability to separate them from the rest of the groups who can sing and play instruments well.