ALBUM REVIEW: Alison Krauss and Union Station’s ‘Arcadia’ Is Worth the Wait

Even with a fourteen-year gap between albums with Union Station, Alison Krauss has remained a musical force. Her duo albums with Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant serve as an indicator of her versatility. With the release of Arcadia, her tenth studio album since her debut at 16, Krauss returns—not that she ever left—to the music that made her a standard-bearer for roots music.

Krauss has obviously been song-collecting in the interim since the release of the last AKUS album Paper Airplane in 2011. She reportedly found the album’s starting point with “Looks Like the End of the Road,” written by Jeremy Lister. Selected as opening track, it highlights Krauss’s pure, clear vocals that have earned her so many awards and a huge fan base. The song features a stripped-down melody, with dobro and mandolin breaks, with simple harmony on just a note or two until the final refrain.

The division of lead vocals between Krauss and band newcomer Russell Moore is indicative of Krauss’s focus on the impact of the music. Each sings lead on one of the singles released in advance of the album—Krauss on “Looks Like the End of the Road” and Moore on “Granite Mills.” The latter, one of the strongest tracks on the album, is a ballad based on an 1874 mill fire in Massachusetts. The disaster led to many deaths and injuries and, eventually, to increased safety regulations. Moore’s signature bluegrass vocals also appear on JD McPherson’s “North Side Gal,” and “Snow.”

“The Wrong Way” is another track highlighting Krauss’s strength as a vocalist. The simplicity of the song’s melody and message—just two verses, chorus, and bridge—is a perfect vehicle for her voice.  “Richmond on the James,” by contrast, relates a battlefield story almost timeless with the tales of two comrades, the one surviving charged with returning personal effects to a sister and mother back home.

Union Station remains relatively intact, with one major development: Dan Tyminski, male vocalist for two decades, plays acoustic guitar and mandolin on the album but announced his intent to step away from the band to focus on his solo career. Stepping into the role is Russell Moore of IIIrd Tyme Out, one of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s most award-winning vocalists. According to press materials, Krauss did not expect Moore to accept her offer to join Union Station, but he has a huge presence on the album and will tour with Alison Krauss and Union Station from April into 2026.

Ron Block, Jerry Douglas, and Barry Bales continue their roles with the band on the album and tour. Stuart Duncan, who plays twin fiddles with Krauss on “North Side Gal,” is also joining the band on tour. Other standout musicians on the album include mandolin icon Adam Steffey, who plays on “One Ray of Shine” and “Richmond on the James,” and Krauss’s brother Viktor plays piano on the album. He also provided string arrangements and set to music Maurice Odgen’s poem “The Hangman,” a haunting tale of an impassive bystander, which also features Moore.

Fans of Krauss will find strong song choices that tell the stories and echo the sounds of the past. “Forever” and “There’s a Light up Ahead” are reminiscent of the songs that earned Krauss two Oscar nominations in 2003 from the Cold Mountain soundtrack. The clarity of each note, set against the simple dobro, mandolin, and guitar melody lines on “There’s a Light up Ahead,” which closes the album, reassures fans of Alison Krauss and Union Station that the spirit of the band remains intact.

Alison Krauss & Union Station’s Arcadia is out March 28.