Hem: Dan Messe, Gary Maurer, Steve Curtis (vocals); Bob Hoffnar (pedal steel guitar, dobro); Sally Ellyson, Mark Brotter.

Personnel: Sally Ellyson (vocals); Steve Curtis (guitar, banjo); Gary Maurer (guitar, mandolin); Bob Offnar (dobro); Heather Zimmerman (violin); Lara Lynne Hickes (viola); John "Beaky" Diamond (harmonica); Dan Messe (piano); Dawn Landes (glockenspiel); Mark Brotter (drums).

Audio Mixer: Gary Maurer.

Recording information: Loho Studios, New York, NY; Mission Sound, Brooklyn, NY; STratosphere Sound, New York, NY.

Photographer: Caroline Shepard.

Arranger: Greg Pliska.

NO WORD FROM TOM works as something of a stopgap release for the Brooklyn-based alt-country outfit Hem. Not quite a "new release," the group's first offering for the Nettwerk/Waveland label is a collection of outtakes, covers, demos, live recordings, and rarities recorded between 2000 and 2005. Does the band still sound like the Cowboy Junkies? Yes. But that's not a bad thing.

There's a range of originals, traditional songs ("All the Pretty Horses"), and covers (R.E.M.'s "South Central Rain"), but the collection feels anything but rag-tag. The combination of the band's intimate country atmospherics, Dan Messe's fine songwriting, and lead singer Sally Ellyson's warm, lullaby-style voice are thoroughly appealing, sustaining a warm, wistful vibe throughout.

Entertainment Weekly (p.65) - "Sally Ellyson's pristine soprano nicely parses the country-soul classic 'Rainy Night In Georgia'..."

Dirty Linen (p.64) - "Hem's music has the cool, dark austerity of Cowboy Junkies, but Sally Ellyson's voice is breathier and, if anything, sadder than that of Margo Timmins."