By Molly Sheridan

FRI. & SUN., AUG.20 & 22

AMIDST THE DIN of each new band of the hour crowding into New York, it's sometimes hard to keep track of the steady talents. I got a reminder when the announcement came through that Tin Hat Trio was releasing their fourth album, Book of Silk, and playing two dates in our fair metropolis to celebrate.

I got hooked on the group in 1999 when they released the intriguingly titled Memory Is an Elephant. On that outing, the trio—Rob Burger (accordion, pump organ, piano), Carla Kihlstedt (violin, viola) and Mark Orton (guitar, banjo, dobro)—mixed up their collective compositional and instrumental talents and came up with an original sound that pooled their various influences in a remarkably cohesive way.

After Memory, they put out two more discs, Helium (2000) and The Rodeo Eroded (2002), inviting along a few notable guests such as Tom Waits and Willie Nelson to join in the quirky acoustic fun. For Book of Silk, harpist/composer Zeena Parkins and tuba master Bryan Smith add their respective talents to the Trio's already significant brain trust.

Once again they have driven
out over the terrain of alt-country/jazz/folk/pop/blues and
come back with a collection of striking, original chamber pieces, a kind of modern American folk music with hints of all the beauty and tension
that would require these days.

The disc opens with some mournful unison violin and accordion playing against a delicate guitar accompaniment, and I am instantly hooked by their chamber pop miniatures yet again. The shows celebrating the album release will likely mix a bit of the old with the new, though hopefully between their Joe's Pub and Lincoln Center showings there will be room on the set list for the sonically fascinating "March of the Smallest Feet" and the Kihlstedt-penned tune "Compay."

There are those critics who have written off the group as something along the lines of easy-listening for the latte-drinking intellectual, but I think they may have confused effortless-sounding performances for a lack of sophistication. The dozens of intersecting melodies flow easily, familiar yet new, snapshots of an old love affair or a forgotten poem as recalled from the comfort of your own living-room sofa.

Aug. 20: Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (betw. E. 4th St. and Astor Pl.), 212-539-8778; 7:30, $20.

Aug. 22: Lincoln Center, North Plaza, W. 65th St. (betw. Columbus & Amsterdam Aves.), 212-875-5456, 4; free.