With musical prowess, a natural flair for the dramatic and an intriguing first album, Hall and his band are the most promising unit on the local alternative scene.

The singer under the lights at the Howlin' Wolf this night in June doesn't pack a whole lot of pounds, but every ounce of James Hall's bantamweight frame is being hurled into cathartic expressions of faith and despair and hope.

With close-cropped hair and a vast inner energy, he alternately croons and ...