Zero Church

In a time of national mourning and spiritual searching, Suzzy and Maggie Roche offer a balm to soothe the troubled soul. Zero Church, a collection of prayers set to music, grew out of the sisters' participation in a seminar at Harvard University's Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue, and was originally set to be released on September 11, 2001. At that point, Suzzy wrote "New York City", a musical meditation for the missing, the families of the dead and the heroes of the day. That piece joins songs based on extraordinarily moving prayers of an AIDS patient, a Vietnam soldier-turned-firefighter, a nun, a gay man remembering Matthew Shephard and a former African slave, among others. The Roches themselves sing like angels, and when they're joined by DuPree, a veteran artist at the Institute, you'll swear there's a heavenly choir at work. This is divine inspiration, and then some. --Alanna Nash

Label: Unknown
Studio: Red House
Released: 2002-02-04
Format: Audio CD