If you’re not listening to music under-the-radar and off-the-grid then quite frankly you’re not doing it the right way. The reality is for every mega pop star, there’s thousands upon thousands more who are far from the spotlight and demand wider attention. New England-bred singer-songwriter Moira Smiley is one such artist. Her latest release The Rhizone Project might just be the most stunning album this writer will hear all year. Yep, it’s that good.

Ostensibly a folk album, The Rhizome Project is awash in strings, soaring vocals and some of the finest arrangements this writer has heard in years. Lyrically it’s not exactly an uplifting album, there’s many a song awash in lyrics about death and destruction. But the music, holy heavens it is truly something to behold.

Album opener “Go Dig My Grave” is haunting and hypnotic and distinctly Celtic and folky. That is is also inviting and enchanting is probably not a mistake, what may be surprising is that the song comes across more like a prayer than a folk song. Much of the song’s heavy lifting comes from Smiley’s powerhouse vocals and her intoxicating delivery. The sweetly affecting vocals of Merrill Garbus (of Tune-Yards) add another layer to a song awash in layers. A swirl of strings and acoustic instruments rise and fall in the background and the entire thing is equal parts cinematic and mesmerizing. That sense of pathos never relents from start to finish.

“Mourning Dove” is more accessible and direct, a gorgeous folk song backed by wintry piano and triumphant strings. The funereal “My Son, David” follows and it is ostensibly an eulogy set to music. Vocalist Taylor Ashton lends his vocals here and gives the song some punch. When the song ends one can’t help but listen again, even though it will most assuredly leaving you weeping.

Smiley is immensely talented and sometimes her vocals can do all the work. That’s the case on the poetic “Now is the Cool of the Day” an ethereal effort that is equal parts magnetic, melancholic and mesmerizing. Smiley shows her versatility when she sings in Gaelic on “Ar Lan Y Mor” and one can’t help but wish for more songs just like this. There’s something potent and powerful about Smiley singing in her native tongue that leaves the listener wanting more. The Rhizome Project’s Side A concludes with “Standing on the Shore” a dramatic and borderline theatrical effort that marries rising strings with Smiley’s indelible vocals.

Side B of The Rhizome Project opens with “Soul Cake” arguably the album’s most uplifting and buoyant effort. Lively and sprite “Soul Cake” is ostensibly a nursery rhyme set to music and for an album whose lyrics are so mired in misery it is a most welcome reprieve. The album’s apex moment though is successive cut “Oh Watch the Stars.” In five fantastic minutes Smiley proves she is truly an expert in her craft. The song is nuanced, meticulous and air-tight in its arrangments. To put it simply, it’s a damn near masterpiece. Not content to let “Soul Cake” be the only positive composition, Smiley finds some warmth in the yawning bliss of “Awake Awake.”

The Rhizome Project‘s penultimate offering is “John O Dreams” which marries spoken word verses with Smiley’s soaring vocals. The album concludes with “Great Trees” which borrows the same sonic landscape of “Oh Watch the Stars” and ends the album with a sense of positivity and acclaim.

The fact that The Rhizome Project is as winning as it is should not be a surprise. After all Smiley has toured and made record with indie-pop heavyweights Tune-Yards, Irish American chart-topper Solas, famed choral composer Eric Whitacre, GRAMMY Award winning pianist Billy Childs, folk singer Sam Amidon and many others. She’s also appeared on stages such as New York’s Carnegie Hall and Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall among others. She’s also been featured by the likes of the BBC, NPR, ABC Australia and in TED conferences. Ever prolific, The Rhizome Project is Smiley’s fourth album in six years and her ninth overall. Most importantly The Rhizome Project is probably the best record Smiley has made to date.