Whenever you look at an old picture from the ’30s or ’40s, the same feeling tends to creep up on you. First you may laugh at the funny clothes of the people in the picture, but once you take a closer look you are left haunted, wondering what become of the smiling faces. The same can be said for Joe Henry’s latest release, Civilians. Henry’s self-consciously artful roots rock may at first seem fit for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but the album’s dark beauty slowly grabs you.

Henry is no stranger to New Orleans. He produced last year’s stellar Allen Toussaint/ Elvis Costello collaboration The River in Reverse. While that album had a distinctly urban feel, Civilians brings the listener to Barataria swamps in the middle of the night. The songs have an open-ended, airy feel, as if the music were coming in like wind through an open window. This method makes some songs blend together in the middle of the record, but the lyrics, melodies and musicianship of a band including jazz guitar great Bill Frisell are enough to dispel any monotony.

“Our Song” encapsulates the entire record. The song starts off wide-open and melancholy, near the point of meandering. The track proves to be a slow burn, however, as the melody, semi-political lyrics and string section gain momentum as it progresses. The fragile piano ballads “I Will Write My Book” and “God Only Knows” bring the album to a gorgeously somber conclusion. It is a stark but fitting conclusion for an album of dark, atmospheric, and moving folk.