Neo-folkie Pierce Pettis can always be counted on for poetic songs of beauty and passion that arrive at a listener's head and heart at precisely the same time. On State of Grace his low-key compositions, delivered with an easy gait, illuminate the many facets of the Southern experience. All of his references to genteel manners and verandas and Confederate statues might seem like glossy picture post cards, except that Pettis, an Alabaman, also finds the unique truths of a geographic region that's lost much of its identity with the Wal-Mart homogenization of America. Most of his songs, whether steeped in the folk tradition or flirting with blues or rock, carry an undertow of spirituality that promises something more than man's troubles on this earth, and in these endeavors, especially »I've Got a Hope,« Pettis manages to bypass cloying sentiment in conjuring something real. As the singer-songwriter puts it, this is an album »peppered with hope.« Well said, and well done, too. And yes, with grace. --Alanna Nash