Hailing from the same hometown as Dave Matthews, September 67 has commenced its travels in the moderate spotlight lugging around the somewhat unfortunate tag of being a Charlottesville, Va., band. The guitar-and-drums duo of Shannon Worrell and Kristin Asbury, however, does anything but fill the air with wide-eyed psychedelic hoedowns and listener-chummy arrangements. Instead, on the band’s debut, Lucky Shoe, the ladies craft low-key, minimalist songs about the quiet, contemplative pauses between life’s louder moments. Producers John Morand and Cracker’s David Lowery sometimes can’t help themselves, providing layers of buzzing guitar and whirring feedback, but the tracks’ boldest sounds always come from the women themselves and the subtle passion at work in their music. Worrell’s vocals are sweet and lilting, her phrasing clever and unpredictable. Besides taking the helm at the drums, Asbury plays Wurlitzer, accordion, and harp, and constructs many of the vocal arrangements. Lucky Shoe’s strengths are abundant: “Busy Building” and “Setting the Old House on Fire,” the first two songs, tell the tale of a woman contemplating (and eventually leaving) an inattentive, undeserving lover; the titular track is a bouncy tribute to the memory of youth, threaded with country-minded guitar and handsome violin lines; and the strongest offering, “Don’t Break,” about a young child, possibly mentally disabled, features an unbelievably optimistic chorus in a sea of nail-biting introspection. There are a few awkward bumps along the way, but for the most part, September 67 displays a confidence and individuality (and sincere promise) that will keep the band from ever settling for a female version of “Ants Marching.”—Sean Daly