Daniel Martin Moore had the rare fortune of securing a record deal through an unsolicited demo. On a whim, the Cold Spring native sent his home recordings to Sub Pop Records in January 2007, resulting in a full-length debut for the label just a year later. Moore's amiable and engaging folk songs were lent weight in the studio by co-producer Joe Chiccarelli (Shins, White Stripes), violin player Petra Haden, upright bass player Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and vocalist Jesca Hoop, all of whom appeared on 2008's Stray Age. He kept the collaborative spirit alive one year later by working with cellist Ben Sollee, who had previously played alongside Abigail Washburn in the folk supergroup Sparrow Quartet. Together, the two composed a number of songs inspired by the American South, and fellow Kentucky native Jim James soon joined the project as producer. The resulting album, Dear Companion, was released in 2010 under both musicians' names. 　　Daniel Martin Moore's new album, In the Cool of the Day, all started with an old piano, situated in the heart of Cincinnati’s WVXU studios. What had been scheduled to be a routine interview and in-studio performance turned into otherworldly inspiration when Moore sat down and plunked away at the old 9-foot Steinway, once used as the main instrument by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. With the help of longtime friend and drummer Daniel Joseph Dorff, Moore has given us a "spiritual" album of time-tested, family gospel favorites remembered from growing up and reinterpreted here, with a few new tunes of his own in the same vein. And, it's a sincerely revelatory album, evoking Daniel's personal history, sense of place, love, faith (in music/art/whatever) that speaks plainly to the heart of any soul.